[Early prognosis of the course of hepatitis B using radioimmunoassay of HBA/IgM complexes].

By other authors complexes of HBsAg and nonspecific gammaglobulin of the IgM class were found in the serum in the early stages of hepatitis B. These complexes were detected by radioimmunoassay. They persisted in chronic hepatitis, but disappeared from the serum within one month in acute cases. Our own data also confirm these findings. From our figures it can be calculated that the prognosis of acute hepatitis in any one patient can be stated with a probability of 98.8% as early as 4 weeks after onset of the disease. Two weeks later a chronic course can be predicted with a probability of 82%. HBsAg/IgM-complexes occur almost exclusively in sera positive for HBsAg. Their disappearance, however, is independent of the presence of HBeAg, as well as of the amount of HBsAg. They represent a new marker which is recognizable at an early stage of infection and gives a reliable prognosis of the course of hepatitis B.