High prevalence of significant liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients with normal ALT in central Europe

The indication for antiviral treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B is based on serum HBV DNA levels, transaminases, and histological grade and stage. The relation of liver fibrosis and inflammation to ALT activity in chronic hepatitis B infection was investigated in a non-endemic, European setting. A total of 253 patients with chronic hepatitis B who had undergone liver biopsy at the Clinic of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectious Diseases, Dusseldorf, Germany over the past 19 years (1990–2009) were evaluated. Thirty-nine patients had persistently normal transaminases, 86 patients had ALT with 1–2 × ULN (upper limit of normal) and 128 patients had ALT >2 × ULN. Liver fibrosis or inflammation was defined as significant for stages or grades ≥ 2 according to the Desmet/Scheuer score. Significant liver fibrosis (F ≥ 2) was found in 36%, cirrhosis in 18%, and significant inflammation (G ≥ 2) in 27% of patients with normal transaminases. There was no difference in the stage of liver fibrosis and the frequency of cirrhosis between patients with normal and elevated transaminases. The most important factor associated with the presence of cirrhosis in multivariate analysis was age ≥40 years (P < 0.003). If concomitant factors like elevated GGT or male sex were furthermore present high prevalences of significant liver disease were found. The data indicate that, in a European setting, patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, and normal transaminases frequently have significant liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Therefore, liver biopsy or liver stiffness measurement (LSM) should be performed in these patients to determine the stage of liver fibrosis. J. Med. Virol. 83:968–973, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.