Diagnostic Potential of Inflammatory Biomarker Levels in the Serum of Patients with Hepatitis B Infection: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic biomarker potential of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (PCT) levels in the serum of individuals infected with the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). The patients were divided into two age groups: Younger (<60 years) and older (≥60 years). An Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay (ECLIA) platform was employed for the serological analysis to quantify the biomarker levels. A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of HBV-infected patients and serum samples were collected from 200 individuals infected with HBV as well as from healthy controls. ECLIA revealed significantly increased levels of the pro-inflammatory markers CRP and PCT in both younger and older HBVinfected patients compared with those for participants in the healthy controls (p<0.0001). Importantly, the serum CRP and PCT levels were independent of age and sex. These findings provide evidence for increased serum CRP and PCT levels following HBV infection, indicating a potential correlation between these biomarkers and HBV infection. Thus, this study demonstrates the promising clinical diagnostic significance of CRP and PCT in HBV infections when assessed using ECLIA.