الفهرس 
Age at HBeAg seroconversion in children with chronic hepatitis B virusinfection and impact of seroconversion on disease prognosis
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Abstract
Background: Hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion is associated with reduced risk of liver-related complications. There is a lack of evidence in the literature about factors and biomarkers that is associated with HBeAg seroconversion in children with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Aim of work: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the rate of HBeAg seroconversion in Egyptian children with HBV infection and to assess the risk factors and prognosis of this seroconversion. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 56 children with chronic HBV infection. We recruited children from the archives of the Pediatric Hepatology outpatient clinic, Cairo University Children{u2019}s Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. We evaluated possible association between various data including: age, gender, mode of transmission, blood picture, liver functions, HBV markers (HBeAg, anti- HBe, HBsAg, anti- HBs), HBV DNA, treatment status and HBeAg seroconversion. Liver functions were assessed at baseline and on follow visits. Results: Age of included patients ranged between 6 months to 14 years; 61% were males. Vertical transmission was the main risk factor for transmission (96.4%). Majority of patients that received treatment were on PEG-IFN (60.9%). Overall rate of seroconversion was 37.5 %. Seroconversion occurred at a mean age of 7.9 years. Age, gender, mode of transmission, liver synthetic functions and HBV DNA were comparable in both seroconverted and non-seroconverted groups. Baseline total bilirubin and AST levels were significantly higher among patients with sero-conversion. Conclusion: Children with chronic HBV develop a modest rate of HBeAg sero-conversion at a mean age of 7.9 years. The rate of seroconversion is significantly related to bilirubin and AST levels on presentation. AST improvement and outcome is significantly affected by the seroconversion status