Viral Hepatitis B during Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at Fez University Hospital: Prevalence and Risk Factors

Patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) have long been considered at risk for viral hepatitis B. However, recent epidemiological studies have found similar prevalence, or even lower than in the general population. The objective of this work is to determine the prevalence of viral hepatitis B (HVB) during IBD, to determine the risk factors in the service of Hepato-gastroenterology of university hospital Hassan II-Fez, and of evaluate the impact on therapeutic management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study, spread over a period of 17 years and a half (January 2001-June 2017). All patients treated for IBD who are tested for Hbs Ag and anti Hbcwere included. The HVB DNA levels were tested in case of positivity of HbsAgor anti Hbc. Results: Over the study period, 755 patients were included. The average age of our patients was 35 years [14 - 87] with a sex-ratio H/F of 0.67. We had 391 cases (51.8%) of Crohn’s disease (CD) and 364 cases (48.2%) of ulcerative colitis (UC). Anti HBctest was positive in 1.98% of cases (N = 15). In these patients, HBsAg was positive in 1.19% of cases (N = 9). The prevalence of HVB was 2.55% in CD (N = 10) versus 1.37% in UC (N = 5). In our work, no history of surgery, digestive endoscopy or transfusion has been shown to be a risk factor for viral transmission. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HVB in IBD is similar to that of the general population. The safety of blood transfusions and the improvement of asepsis probably explain these results. However, the risk of viral reactivation during HVB, sometimes fatal under immunosuppressive treatment, requires systematic screening.