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CN 22-1108/R
Volume 41 Issue 10
Oct.  2025
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Article Navigation >  Journal of Clinical Hepatology  > 2025  >  41(10): 2030-2036

Effect of serum HBV RNA on antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B

DOI: 10.12449/JCH251012
  • 1.

    Department of Gastroenterology,The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650101, China

  • 2.

    Department of Clinical Laboratory，The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University，Kunming 650101，China

  • 3.

    Department of Hematology，The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University，Kunming 650101，China

Research funding:

Kunming Medical University Graduate Innovation Fund 2024 (2024S90)

More Information
  • Corresponding author: XU Ying， xuying_0505@163.com （ORCID： 0009-0001-5627-1542）
  • Received Date: 2025-03-24
  • Accepted Date: 2025-04-11
  • Published Date: 2025-10-25
    Abstract
  •   Objective  To investigate the role of serum HBV RNA in assessing antiviral therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B， as well as its potential as a biomarker in clinical therapy， and to provide a scientific basis for the clinical treatment of chronic hepatitis B.  Methods  A total of 134 patients who were diagnosed with chronic HBV infection in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from April 2023 to May 2024 were enrolled as subjects， and related examinations were performed， including HBV DNA， serum HBV RNA， liver function， HBsAg， anti-HBs， HBeAg， anti-HBe， anti-HBc， and transient elastography of the liver. The independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups； the chi-square test or the continuity-adjusted chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. Pearson correlation analysis or Spearman correlation analysis was performed.  Results  The 134 patients with chronic HBV infection were divided into HBeAg-positive group with 45 patients and HBeAg-negative group with 89 patients， and there were significant differences between the two groups in age， the positive rate and quantitative value of HBV DNA， the positive rate and quantitative value of serum HBV RNA， HBsAg， anti-HBe， and ALT （all P<0.05）. In the cohort study of the HBeAg negative group， there were significant differences in the levels of HBV DNA， HBsAg， and GGT between the serum HBV RNA-negative group with 14 patients and the serum HBV RNA-positive group with 75 patients （all P<0.05）. There were 28 patients in the HBeAg-positive group and 62 in the HBeAg-positive group who used antiviral drugs for ≥1 month， and the 28 HBeAg-positive patients had an HBV RNA positive rate of 100%， while for the 62 HBeAg-negative patients， there were significant differences in the positive rate and level of serum HBV RNA between the patients with different durations of medication （both P<0.05）. Among the 89 HBeAg-negative patients， there were 62 treatment-experienced patients and 27 treatment-naïve patients， and there was a significant difference between the two groups in HBV RNA level ［2.07 （1.52 — 2.82） log10 copies/mL vs 2.69 （1.80 — 3.55） log10 copies/mL， Z=2.034， P=0.042］. For HBeAg-negative patients， serum HBV RNA was positively correlated with HBV DNA and HBsAg （both P<0.05）， and for HBeAg-positive patients， serum HBV RNA was significantly positively correlated with HBV DNA， HBsAg， and HBeAg （all P<0.05）.  Conclusion  Antiviral therapy can reduce viral load， and for HBeAg-negative patients with high-sensitivity HBV DNA below the lower limit of detection， serum HBV RNA can fill the “gap” in the detection of viral replication.

     

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