BACKGROUND Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is characterized by the detection of HBV DNA in serum and/or in liver in the absence of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The reported prevalence of occult hepatitis B varies markedly among populations and according to the sensitivity of the HBV DNA assay. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence of occult hepa...

The effect of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) ingestion on occult gastrointestinal blood loss has been studied in patients with treated Addisonian pernicious anaemia and proved achlorhydria and in control patients able to secrete hydrochloric acid. A highly significant increase in gastrointestinal blood loss (1.9 ml./day of treatment) occurred with aspirin ingestion in the achlorhydric patients....

results of 45 patients, 4 (8.9% [95% ci: 4.4-15.6]) had detectable genomic hcv-rna in their pbmc specimens. hcv genotypes were determined in the pbmcs of these subjects showed that 2 (50.0%) subjects with occult hcv infection had hcv subtype 3a, and 2 (50.0%) had hcv subtype 1b. conclusions this study found that 8.9 % of the iranian candidates for liver transplant with cryptogenic cirrhosis had...

A randomized controlled trial to test patient compliance with screening for colorectal cancer in association with general practice health checks was carried out in six practices (three urban and three rural). A total of 1588 patients aged 45-64 years were randomized to one of four intervention groups. In the first group patients were posted a Haemoccult test (Kline Beckman) kit. This group was ...

We recently reported that 23.5% of Canadians aged 50 years or older who were at average risk for colorectal cancer had ever received screening for colorectal cancer; this value fell to 17.6% when only up-to-date screening was considered. In the CMAJ editorial published with our study, Alan Barkun and Ken Flegel reported that 62.9% of patients in the United States were screened. Roy Preshaw subs...

Occult hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) is characterized by HBV DNA positivity but HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) negativity. Occult HBV infection is associated with a risk of HBV transmission through blood transfusion, hemodialysis, and liver transplantation. Furthermore, occult HBV infection contributes to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We recently reported the chara...

conclusions hepatitis b core antibody immunoglobulin m positivity is different in healthy blood donors of different countries according to the prevalence of chronic hepatitis b and its vaccination. based on the current study findings, all positive samples of hepatitis b core antibody in iranian blood banks should be considered as candidates for occult hepatitis b not just the window period infe...

BACKGROUND Occult infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a type of chronic HBV infection that is characterized by the absence of a detectable hepatitis B surface antigen in the blood and by very low levels of HBV DNA in the blood and liver. The mechanisms leading to occult HBV infection remain poorly understood but include possible genetic mutations and deletions. Recently, it has been shown...