Baseline HBsAg levels associated with HBsAg loss in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B infection with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase

Summary Background We aimed to assess the long-term outcomes of e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection with low hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level ( Methods This retrospective cohort study enrolled consecutive baseline CHB patients with PNALT from January 2005 to June 2008. In total, 252 e antigen-negative CHB patients with PNALT and low HBV DNA level ( Results Of 188 patients, 16 had HBV DNA level of > 200 IU/mL and PNALT, 164 had HBV DNA level of   200 IU/mL and elevated ALT level, of which 3 used an antiviral drug during follow-up. Twelve of 164 experienced HBsAg loss. Cox regression analysis suggested that baseline HBsAg levels were associated with HBsAg loss in patients after follow-up, especially the baseline HBsAg levels of  P P  = 0.0006). Conclusion The e antigen-negative CHB infection with low HBV DNA level (