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Background and Aims: With no report on the overall prevalence and ramifications of hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) infection in the United States for more than two decades, the characteristics of chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) patients coinfected with HDV, including clinical presentation, rate of hepatitis C virus tri-infection, and HDV viral load, were assessed. Methods: At California Pacific Medical Center, a retrospective chart review was conducted on all CHB patients. Results: Of 1191 CHB patients, 499 had been tested for HDV, with 42 (8%) determined to be coinfected; half of these were also hepatitis C virus-infected. Cirrhosis was present in 73% of the coinfected, 80% of the tri-infected, but only 22% of the monoinfected. Twenty-nine patients (69%) were Caucasian non-Hispanic; 10 (24%) were Asians and Pacific Islanders. Of 39 patients for whom HBV-DNA quantification at time of HDV presentation was available, 22 (56%) had undetectable levels; four (10%) had levels > 100 000 IU/mL. Conclusions: HDV affects individuals of all ages and various ethnic groups. Although HBV viral loads are lower, rates of cirrhosis are higher in coinfected patients and higher still in the tri-infected. Our data support revising screening guidelines to advocate for all patients with HBV to be screened for HDV in order to both give the individual patient important information related to the possible need for treatment and to support the public health goal of reducing transmission by educating HDV-negative patients about the need for protection against superinfection and HDV-infected patients about the need to protect against transmission to others.

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BackgroundThe prevalence of precore (PC) and core promoter (CP) mutations in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (CHB) and their impact on liver disease is incompletely defined in the United States.MethodsA retrospective chart review using a cross-sectional approach of 1,186 CHB patients was conducted.ResultsOf 926 patients tested for HBV e antigen (HBeAg), 37 % were HBeAg+. Of 194 patients tested for mutations, 80 % had PC or CP mutations or both; 89 % of HBeAg-negative and 56 % of HBeAg+ patients had PC or CP mutations or both (p < 0.001). The mean log10 ALT was significantly lower in patients with both mutations compared to patients without mutations. The mean log10 HBV DNA was significantly lower in patients with only PC mutations (4.82) compared to patients without mutations (5.71, p = 0.019). With the study population divided into four subgroups based on ALT level at time of diagnosis, cirrhosis incidence was significantly higher in patients with ALT 1–2 × ULN and ALT > 2 × ULN compared to patients with ALT ≤ 0.5 × ULN.ConclusionsOur finding that PC and CP mutations may be associated with milder liver disease in some patients could serve as the basis for longitudinal studies to help delineate treatment need and duration in patients with these mutations. If confirmed, the finding of an association between ALT 1–2 × ULN and increased incidence of cirrhosis could call into question guidelines which only recommend treatment with ALT > 2 × ULN.