J Rheum Dis.  2013 Oct;20(5):310-313. 10.4078/jrd.2013.20.5.310.

A Case of Polyarthritis Associated with Reactivation of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

• Kang DH
• Seo YI
• Kim RB
• Kim HJ
• Lim SY
• Han JS
• Song SH
• Lim SK
• Kim HA

• KMID: 2223007
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4078/jrd.2013.20.5.310

Abstract

Hepatitis viruses (hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus) have been associated with development of inflammatory arthritis. Approximately 400 million people worldwide have chronic HBV infection. HBV infection is the one of the most common causes of liver disease, and the prevalence of HBV infection in Korea is almost 6%. Arthritis in patients with HBV can be encountered in two settings: as a rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-like, acute, self-limited polyarthritis during the pre-symptomatic phase of acute hepatitis B, or, more rarely, as arthritis occurring in the context of HBV-associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). In both cases, the pathogenesis of arthritis is attributed to the deposition of immune complexes containing viral antigens (HBsAg or HBeAg) and their respective antibodies (anti-HBs and anti-HBe) in synovial tissues. Here we report on a case of polyarthritis associated with reactivation of chronic hepatitis B virus infection with a review of the literature.

Keyword

Chronic hepatitis B; Immune complex; Polyarthritis

MeSH Terms

Antibodies
Antigen-Antibody Complex
Antigens, Viral
Arthritis*
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B, Chronic*
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis Viruses
Hepatitis, Chronic*
Herpesvirus 1, Cercopithecine
Humans
Korea
Liver Diseases
Polyarteritis Nodosa
Prevalence
Viruses
Antibodies
Antigen-Antibody Complex
Antigens, Viral