LAUSR

We read with great interest the article by Maimone et al. (1) recently published in your prestigious journal. In this study, the diagnostic characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) level and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) for differentiation of HBsAg inactive carrier (IC) state from hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic active hepatitis B (CAH) patients were assessed. The sensitivity of each of the HBV DNA level ≤2,000 IU/mL, HBsAg level ≤1,000 IU/mL and LSM ≤6.2 kPa for identification of ICs were 86.7%, 81.1% and 84.4%, respectively. However, after combination of two or all of these parameters the calculated sensitivities for differentiation of IC from CAH were all >94% (1). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.