Author/Authors :
Massoumi Hatef نويسنده New York Associates in Gastroenterology, Bronx, New York, USA , Buchheit Kathleen نويسنده MD Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New
York , Gunturu Srinivas نويسنده MD Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New
York , Thlick Ju-En نويسنده MD Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New
York , Gaglio Paul نويسنده MD Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New
York
Abstract :
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant,
worldwide burden due to it’s high prevalence, and risk of complications,
including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Current
literature suggests that African patients with chronic hepatitis B are
at higher risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. The exact mechanism for the
explanation for this observation is contentious and may be due to higher
rates of chronicity, and/or exposure to hepatotoxins including
aflatoxin. We sought to report the clinical characteristics of African
born immigrants with chronic hepatitis B referred to a liver clinic in
New York City. A total of 111 patients were enrolled. 19 patients (17%)
had cirrhosis, and 14 patients (13%) had HCC at initial presentation.
During the course of follow up, 13 patients (12%) died of complications
of HBV, all of them related to HCC. Our case series revealed that a
significant proportion of these patients manifested advanced
complications of HBV such as cirrhosis or HCC.
