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Reactivation of occult hepatitis B virus infection in patients with rheumatic diseases: pathogenesis, risk assessment and prevention

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Abstract

Over the past decade, reactivation of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has garnered much attention from rheumatologists owing to a number of reports which have indicated the potential risk of biologics in causing this previously ignored infectious complication. Hepatitis due to reactivation of occult HBV infection occurs only occasionally but with high mortality upon occurrence, placing us in a clinical dilemma “to address or not to address?” In this review, we discuss how biological and other immunosuppressive therapies increase the risk of developing reactivation of occult HBV infection and attempt to solve this clinical quandary.

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  1. Division of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15W7, Kita-Ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan

    Masaru Kato & Tatsuya Atsumi

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  1. Masaru Kato
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Correspondence to Masaru Kato.

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Kato, M., Atsumi, T. Reactivation of occult hepatitis B virus infection in patients with rheumatic diseases: pathogenesis, risk assessment and prevention. Rheumatol Int 36, 635–641 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3395-x

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