The hepatitis B carrier state--a follow-up study of 100 consecutive cases.

The clinical, demographic, serologic, and histopathologic features of 100 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B were studied. The subjects were from diverse racial backgrounds; 59 had emigrated to Canada from geographical areas with high hepatitis B carrier rates. A reduced 5-year survival rate was seen only in those with cirrhosis; death was most commonly related to sepsis. The male to female ratio was 4.0 in the total study group but was higher in those with elevated transaminases (6.0 vs 2.0, p less than 0.05). Those patients with mild-to-heavy alcohol consumption were more likely to have elevated transaminase values than those who drank no alcohol (p less than 0.05). The mean annual sero-conversion rate from HBeAg to Anti-HBe was 8.0%. The HBeAg status did not correlate with the presence of histologic activity or fibrosis.