Skip to content

Advertisement

  • Research article
  • Open Access
  • Open Peer Review

Discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis correlates with high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in rheumatoid arthritis patients with HBV carrier state: a real-world clinical practice

  • †1,
  • †1,
  • 1,
  • 1,
  • 1,
  • 2 and
  • 1Email author
†Contributed equally
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders201415:449

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-15-449

©  Mo et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015

  • Received: 9 June 2014
  • Accepted: 16 December 2014
  • Published:
Open Peer Review reports

Abstract

Background

To investigate the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with HBV carrier state during treatment of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and the use of antiviral prophylaxis in real-world clinical practice.

Methods

Consecutive RA patients with HBV carrier state were included. Clinical data including liver evaluation, HBV infection evaluation and the use of antiviral prophylaxis were recorded.

Results

Fifty-three RA patients with HBV carrier state were screened and 36 patients were qualified for analysis. Thirty-six percentage of patients developed HBV reactivation and 17% developed HBV hepatitis together with reactivation, one of which developed decompensate cirrhosis. Only 50% of patients accepted lamivudine although all patients were recommended antiviral prophylaxis with entecavir or tenofovir and only 31% continued during DMARDs therapy. Seventy-one percentage of patients who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis developed HBV reactivation 3 ~ 21 months after discontinuation. Logistic regression analyses showed discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis (OR: 66, p = 0.027), leflunomide (OR: 64, p = 0.011) and past history of hepatitis (OR: 56, p = 0.013) were risk factors of HBV reactivation. Past history of hepatitis (OR: 10, p = 0.021) was also risk factor of HBV hepatitis together with reactivation.

Conclusion

Our results suggest poor patient acceptance and discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis should not be ignored for Chinese RA patients with HBV carrier state in real-world clinical practice. Discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis, past history of hepatitis and LEF might increase risk of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy.

Keywords

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Hepatitis B virus
  • Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

Background

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is defined as the presence of positive surface antigen of HBV (HBsAg) more than 6 months and generally classified into HBV hepatitis with fluctuant alanine amino-transferase (ALT) and HBV carriers state with persistent normal ALT. Chronic HBV infection is a global healthcare problem affecting more than 350 million people around the world with potential poor prognosis of cirrhosis, hepatocarcinoma or death [1, 2]. Our previous study reported the prevalence of chronic HBV infection among Chinese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients was 11.2%, similar with the prevalence of the age-matched general Chinese population [1, 3]. It is estimated 300,000 ~ 600,000 Chinese RA patients with chronic HBV infection.

The prevalence of HBV reactivation was estimated 50% among patients with hematology-oncology diseases during immunosuppressive therapy and it may lead to severe outcomes including hepatitis, acute liver failure, cirrhosis or death in 5% ~ 30% of patients [4]. International associations for the study of liver disease recommended antiviral prophylaxis should be used before immunosuppressive therapy and continued minimal 6 ~ 12 months after suspension of immunosuppressant for chronic HBV infection patients [5–7], based on clinical evidences derived from hematology-oncology field. However, there’re great differences of host immune status, the types and intensity of immunosuppressant between RA patients and hematology-oncology patients.

Recommendations for disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) from American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 2008 suggested that minocycline, sulfasalazine (SSZ) under antiviral prophylaxis and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) could be used for RA patients with HBV carrier state and liver function of Child-Pugh class A (a scoring system for chronic liver disease), while methotrexate (MTX) and leflunomide (LEF) were contraindicated [8]. ACR 2012 update recommended that biologic DMARDs should also be used with antiviral prophylaxis in these patients [9]. That is to say, long-term antiviral prophylaxis should be used for RA patients with HBV carrier state due to long-term DMARDs treatment. However, in real-world clinical practice, antiviral prophylaxis may not be continued even not accepted due to high economic burden, poor patient compliance or efficacy/safety of antiviral drugs. To explore the risk of HBV reactivation in RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy and the use of antiviral prophylaxis in real-world clinical practice, here we reported our single center results.

Methods

Patients

Consecutive and hospitalized RA patients from July 2007 to September 2013 at department of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University were screened. All RA patients fulfilled 1987 ACR revised criteria or 2010 ACR/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria. RA Patients with HBV carrier state who had positive HBsAg, normal ALT ≥ 6 months and normal total billirubin (TBiL) were included. Patients with HBV hepatitis or other types of viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, drug-induced hepatitis, cirrhosis or hepatocarcinoma were excluded. All patients gave written informed consent for this study, which was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital.

Study design

Clinical data such as demographic characteristics, RA disease activity evaluation, liver evaluation, HBV infection evaluation and therapeutic regimens were recorded during follow-up period without interference with physicians’ therapeutic strategies. Liver evaluation included serum ALT, TBiL and if necessary, liver ultrasonography. HBV infection evaluation included serum HBV-DNA and HBV serological markers including HBsAg and its antibody (HBsAb), antigen e of HBV (HBeAg) and its antibody (HBeAb), antibody to HBV core antigen (HBcAb). Serum HBV-DNA was detected by quantitative real-time PCR by fluorogenic probe method with a lower limit of detection of 103copies/mL. HBV serological markers were qualitatively detected by ELISA.

Outcomes

The primary outcome was HBV reactivation, which was defined as a 10-fold rise in HBV-DNA compared to baseline or a switch from undetectable to detectable, and/or HBeAg seroconversion from negative to positive [4]. The secondary outcome was HBV hepatitis defined as ALT > 80U/L after reactivation, with or without icterus [10].

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS for Windows 13.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test or Fisher’s exact probabilities test were used for between-group comparison. Survival curve by Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test was used to estimate the occurrence time of HBV reactivation. Step-forward logistic regression analysis was used to find out the risk factors of HBV reactivation and the following HBV hepatitis, counting odds ratio (OR) and its 95% of confidence interval (CI). A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant.

Results

Baseline characteristics of the study patients

Four hundred and ninety-six consecutive and hospitalized RA patients were screened. Three patients with HCV hepatitis, one patient overlapping with autoimmune hepatitis and two patients with drug-induced hepatitis were excluded. None of these six patients had positive HBsAg. Seven patients with HBV hepatitis were not included either.

Fifty-three RA patients with HBV carrier state were included. Two patients overlapping with systemic lupus erythematosus and one patient combined with lower limbs vasculitis were excluded due to high-dose corticosteroids or different immunosuppressants (e.g. cyclophosphamide). Eight patients were unwilling to be followed up. Six patients lost follow-up due to home migration or change to Chinese herbal therapy. Finally, 36 patients were qualified for statistics (Figure 1).Their baseline characteristics were shown in Table 1. Twenty-six patients (72%) were in moderate to high disease activity according to DAS28-crp. Before enrollment, 24 patients (67%) had never received any DMARD or corticosteroid, while the other 12 patients had received corticosteroid (n = 8), MTX (n = 9), LEF (n = 8), SSZ (n = 4) or HCQ (n = 1).
Figure 1
Figure 1

Flowchart shows the development of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with HBV carrier state with and without antiviral prophylaxis and who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis.

Table 1

Baseline characteristics and therapeutic regimens during follow-up of 36 RA patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier state ▲

 

All Patients

(n = 36)

Baseline serum HBV DNA

  

Undetectable (n = 20)

Detectable (n = 16)

Demographic characters

 Age (years)

46 ± 15

45 ± 15

48 ± 16

 Female proportion

28 (78%)

14 (70%)

14 (88%)

Disease status

 Disease duration (months), median (range)

21 (2 ~ 360)

11 (2 ~ 240)

24 (2 ~ 360)

 Past history of hepatitis

9 (25%)

5 (25%)

4 (25%)

 DAS28-crp, mean ± SD (range)

4.2 ± 1.6 (1.2 ~ 7.6)

4.4 ± 1.7 (1.2 ~ 7.4)

3.9 ± 1.6 (1.7 ~ 7.6)

 RF positive rate

21 (58%)

11 (55%)

10 (63%)

 Anti-CCP antibody positive rate

17 (47%)

12 (60%)

5 (31%)

 CRP (mg/L)

25 ± 33

28 ± 35

20 ± 32

 ESR (mm/1 h)

49 ± 43

55 ± 48

40 ± 35

 ALT (U/L)

19 ± 10

17 ± 12

21 ± 6#

 Total bilirubin (μmol/L)

8 ± 4

8 ± 2

11 ± 5

Therapeutic regimens during follow-up

 MTX

3 (8%)

2 (10%)

1 (6%)

 LEF*

2 (6%)

2 (10%)

0 (0%)

 HCQ

1 (3%)

0 (0%)

1 (6%)

 MTX + LEF

5 (14%)

3 (15%)

2 (13%)

 MTX + SSZ

3 (8%)

2 (10%)

1 (6%)

 MTX + HCQ

10 (28%)

4 (20%)

6 (38%)

 MTX + HCQ + SSZ

12 (33%)

7 (35%)

5 (31%)

 Low-dose Corticosteroid

29 (81%)

15 (75%)

14 (88%)

 TNF-α antagonist△

4 (11%)

4 (20%)

0

▲Data were described with mean ± standard deviation (SD) or number (precentage) unless stated otherwise. DAS28-crp = Disease Activity Score with 28-joint counts modified by CRP; RF = rheumatoid factor; anti-CCP = anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody; CRP = C-reactive protein; ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; MTX = methotrexate; LEF = leflunomide; SSZ = sulfasalazine; HCQ = hydroxychloroquine; NSAIDs = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; TNF = tumor necrosis factor.

*Patients with MTX intolerance due to gastrointestinal discomfort.

△recombinant human TNF-аreceptor: IgG Fc fusion protein (50 mg/w) was given to 2 patients for 4 weeks and infliximab was given to the other 2 patients at a dose of 200 mg for 3 times.

#Compared to patients with undetectable baseline HBV DNA, P < 0.05.

Serum HBV-DNA was undetectable (<103copies/mL) in 20 patients and the median of serum HBV-DNA in the other 16 patients was 4.2 × 104 copies/mL (range, 1 × 103 ~ 1.5 × 108). Positive HBeAg was detected in 2 patients with undetectable HBV-DNA and 5 patients with detectable HBV-DNA. There was no significant difference of baseline characteristics between patients with undetectable and detectable HBV-DNA, except that ALT was significantly higher in the latter than in the former (P < 0.05, Table 1) and both ALT were not exceeding normal range.

HBV reactivation in RA patients with HBV carrier state

Antiviral prophylaxis was recommended for all RA patients with HBV carrier state, but only 18 patients (50%) accepted. Entecavir and tenofovir were recommended to these patients. However, only lamivudine was accepted for economic reason. Sixty-three percentage (10/16) of patients with detectable baseline HBV-DNA accepted antiviral prophylaxis, which tended to be higher than 40% (8/20) of patients with undetectable baseline HBV-DNA (Table 2), but no statistical significance between these two groups was found. Three of seven patients with positive HBeAg accepted antiviral prophylaxis. The median follow-up period was 17.5 months (range, 12 ~ 70 months). HBV-DNA and HBV serological markers of each included patient both at baseline and at the end of follow-up were shown in Additional file 1.
Table 2

Antiviral prophylaxis, HBV reactivation and HBV hepatitis between RA patients with undetectable and detectable baseline HBV-DNA △

Baseline HBV DNA

Antiviral prophylaxis

HBV reactivation

HBV hepatitis

 

Yes*

Discontinuation

No

  

Undetectable (n = 20)

4 (20%)

4 (20%)

12 (60%)

8 (40%)

2 (10%)

Detectable (n = 16)

7 (44%)

3 (19%)

6 (37%)

5 (31%)

4 (25%)

*Patients who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis were not included.

△all P > 0.05.

Thirty-six percentage (13/36) of RA patients with HBV carrier state developed HBV reactivation during DMARDs therapy and 17% (6/36) developed HBV hepatitis together with reactivation. Among patients with undetectable baseline HBV-DNA, 40% (8/20) had a switch of serum HBV-DNA from undetectable to detectable. Among patients with detectable baseline HBV-DNA, 31% (5/16) had a 10-fold rise in serum HBV-DNA (Table 2). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of HBV reactivation between the above two groups of patients (p > 0.05, Table 2). Clinical, serological and virological characteristics of all 13 RA patients with HBV reactivation were shown in Table 3. None of them accompanied with HBeAg seroconversion from negative to positive.
Table 3

Clinical, serological and virological characteristics in 13 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with HBV reactivation during immunosuppressive therapy ▲

Characteristics

Patient 1

Patient 2

Patient 3

Patient 4

Patient 5

Patient 6

Patient 7

Patient 8

Patient 9

Patient 10

Patient 11

Patient 12

Patient 13

Age/Gender

53/M

39/F

42/F

54/F

71/F

26/F

45/F

55/F

36/F

54/M

17/F

21/M

51/F

Past history of hepatitis

no

yes

no

no

no

yes

no

no

no

yes

yes

yes

yes

HBeAg, baseline/reactivation

-/-

-/-

-/-

-/-

-/-

-/-

+/+

-/-

-/-

-/-

+/+

+/+

-/-

Viral loads at baseline (Copies/mL)

<103

<103

<103

1.0 × 103

<103

<103

<103

<103

7.03 × 103

1.22 × 103

3.18 × 105

<103

1.0 × 103

Viral loads at reactivation (Copies/mL)

3.64 × 105

7.87 × 103

1.92 × 103

2.47 × 104

6.98 × 103

1.15 × 104

3.01 × 103

4.01 × 103

9.91 × 105

1.41 × 107

1.78 × 108

5.26 × 107

1.59 × 107

ALT at baseline (U/L)

8

8

20

19

10

6

15

15

11

30

17

20

27

ALT at reactivation (U/L)

26

20

39

24

26

8

16

123

103

103

825

1880

1274

Therapeutic regimens during follow-up

 Corticosteroid

7.5-10 mg/d

no

no

2.5-10 mg/d

5-10 mg/d

10 mg/d

10 mg/d

2.5-10 mg/d

10 mg/d

7.5-10 mg/d

7.5-10 mg/d

no

5-7.5 mg/d

 DMARDs

MTX + LEF

MTX + HCQ + SSZ

MTX + LEF

MTX + HCQ

MTX + SSZ

LEF

MTX + HCQ + SSZ

MTX + LEF

MTX + HCQ + SSZ

MTX + HCQ

MTX + LEF

LEF

MTX + HCQ + SSZ

Antiviral prophylaxis

no

Dis

no

Dis

Dis

no

no

no

LAM

LAM

Dis

Dis

no

Time to reactivation (months)

22

24

26

15

10

18

3

22

8

14

5

6

25

Follow-up period (months)

33

43

34

25

22

35

6

52

10

18

11

7

25

HBV hepatitis

no

no

no

no

no

no

no

Anicteric

Anicteric

Anicteric

Icteric

Icteric

Icteric, cirrhosis

Treatment adjustment after HBV reactivation

 Adjustments in DMARDs

MTX + HCQ + SSZ

no

no

no

no

no

no

HCQ

MTX + HCQ + SSZ

HCQ

SSZ

HCQ

withdrawal

 Antiviral drugs

LAM

no

no

no

no

no

no

LAM

Adefovir dipivoxil

telbivudine

LAM

entecavir

telbivudine

▲The sequences of patients were numbered according to the date of HBV reactivation.

HBV = Hepatitis B virus; F = female; M = male; HBeAg = antigen e of HBV; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; DMARDs = disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; MTX = methrotrexate; LEF = Leflunomide; HCQ = hydroxychloroquine; SSZ = sulfasalazine.

Dis = Discontinuation; LAM = lamivudine.

Risk factors of HBV reactivation in RA patients with HBV carrier state

Therapeutic regimens for RA during follow-up were shown in Table 1. Low-dose MTX (≤15 mg/w) or MTX + LEF therapy was prescribed for patients responding insufficiently to the original DMARD(s) therapy, intolerant to other DMARDs, in moderate to high disease activity or with prognostically unfavourable factors. Four of 5 patients (80%) taking MTX + LEF developed HBV reactivation, which was significantly higher than 21% (6/28) in patients taking MTX alone or other MTX-based DMARD combinations, p = 0.021, Fisher’s Exact Test. Four patients have received TNF-α antagonist for 4 ~ 6 weeks. After receiving TNF-α receptor: IgG Fc fusion protein (50 mg/w) for 4 weeks, one of two patients changed to MTX + LEF therapy for economic reason and developed HBV reactivation 21 months later (Patient 1 in Table 3); and the other changed to MTX + HCQ + SSZ + Lamivudine therapy and kept undetectable HBV-DNA and normal ALT. After receiving infliximab for 3 times, one of two patients changed to MTX + HCQ + SSZ therapy and developed HBV reactivation 22 months later (Patient 2 in Table 3); and the other changed to MTX + LEF therapy and developed HBV reactivation 24 months later (Patient 3 in Table 3).

Seven of 18 patients discontinued lamivudine 1 ~ 7 months later by themselves due to high drug cost and 71% of them (5/7) developed HBV reactivation 3 ~ 21 months after discontinuation of lamivudine (Table 3). The prevalence of HBV reactivation in patients who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis was 71% (5/7), which tended to be higher than 33% (6/18) in patients without antiviral prophylaxis or 18% (2/11) in patients with continuous antiviral prophylaxis (Figure 1), although no significant difference was found perhaps due to small sample size (p = 0.122). Notably, survival curve showed the median occurrence time of HBV reactivation in patients who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis was 10 months (95%CI: 1.7 ~ 18 months), which was earlier than that in patients without antiviral prophylaxis, 25 months (95%CI: 20 ~ 30 months) (χ2 = 10.754, p = 0.005, Figure 2). Two patients with baseline HBV-DNA of 7.03 × 103copies/mL or 1.22 × 103copies/mL developed HBV reactivation 8 or 14 months later although continuous antiviral prophylaxis with lamivudine (Patient 9 and 10 in Table 3).
Figure 2
Figure 2

Survival curve of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in patients with (green) or without antiviral prophylaxis (blue) or those who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis (red) during immunosuppressive therapy.

Logistic regression analysis was performed on variables including age, past history of hepatitis, baseline HBeAg, baseline load of HBV-DNA, immunosuppressants (such as corticosteroid, MTX, LEF, SSZ, HCQ) and antiviral prophylaxis. Discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis (OR: 66, p = 0.027), LEF (OR: 64, p = 0.011) and past history of hepatitis (OR: 56, p = 0.013) were risk factors of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy (Table 4). Further analysis showed patients with past history of hepatitis had a higher prevalence of HBV reactivation than those without, 78% (7/9) vs. 22% (6/27), p = 0.005, Fisher’s Exact Test.
Table 4

Step-forward logistic regression analysis on the risk factors of HBV reactivation and HBV hepatitis

 

Coefficient

Standard error

Wald χ2

P

Odds ratio

95% CI

      

Lower

Upper

Risk factors of HBV reactivation

Leflunomide

4.2

1.6

6.5

0.011

64

2.6

1591

Discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis

4.2

1.9

4.9

0.027

66

1.6

2675

Past history of hepatitis

4.0

1.6

6.1

0.013

56

2.3

1355

Constant

-4.2

1.6

6.5

0.011

0.016

  

Risk factor of HBV hepatitis

Past history of hepatitis

2.3

1.0

5.4

0.021

10

1.4

70

Constant

-2.5

0.7

11.8

0.001

0.08

  

HBV hepatitis after HBV reactivation in RA patients with HBV carrier state

Among 13 RA patients with HBV reactivation, 6 patients (46%) developed HBV hepatitis together with reactivation. Three patients (23%) developed icteric hepatitis and all of these three patients had past history of icteric hepatitis. Logistic regression analysis on the above variables showed past history of hepatitis was also risk factor of HBV hepatitis after HBV reactivation (OR: 10, p = 0.021, Table 4). Further analysis showed patients with past history of hepatitis had a higher prevalence of HBV hepatitis following reactivation than those without, 44% (4/9) vs 7% (2/27), p = 0.024, Fisher’s Exact Test.

The prevalence of HBV hepatitis in patients with HBV-DNA ≥ 105 copies/mL at reactivation was 83% (5/6), which was significantly higher than 14% (1/7) in patients with HBV-DNA < 105 copies/mL at reactivation (p = 0.029).

Treatment adjustment after HBV reactivation

Six of 7 patients with HBV-DNA < 105 copies/mL at reactivation (patient 2 ~ 7 in Table 3) were followed up closely without antiviral therapy or DMARDs adjustment and their HBV-DNA returned to undetectable 8 ~ 19 months later. The other one patient with HBV hepatitis although HBV-DNA < 105 copies/mL at reactivation (patient 8 in Table 3) was treated with lamivudine together with HCQ instead of MTX + LEF. Her serum ALT returned to normal and serum HBV-DNA returned to undetectable two months later. However, with relapsed disease activity (DAS28 = 3.6), she was then treated with MTX + HCQ and reached low disease activity 2 months later.

Treatment adjustment of DMARDs for 6 patients with HBV-DNA ≥ 105 copies/mL at reactivation was shown in Table 3. Patient 1 and patient 13 who have not accepted antiviral prophylaxis were prescribed antiviral therapy, and patient 1 chose lamivudine for economic reason. Patient 11 and 12 who have discontinued antiviral prophylaxis was prescribed antiviral therapy, and patient 11 chose lamivudine for economic reason. Patient 9 and 10 who have chosen lamivudine as antiviral prophylaxis were changed to adefovir dipivoxil and telbivudine, respectively. HBV-DNA of patient 1 returned to undetectable 11 months later. Serum ALT of patient 9 ~ 12 returned to normal and serum HBV-DNA decreased 2 ~ 3 months later (still in follow-up). Patient 13 stopped all DMARDs after developing icteric hepatitis and decompensate cirrhosis.

Discussion

This study provided follow-up records of 36 RA patients with HBV carrier state ranging 12 ~ 70 months in real-world clinical practice and the prevalence of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy was found as high as 36% and the prevalence of HBV hepatitis together with reactivation was 17%. Our study first highlighted poor patient acceptance and discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis for Chinese RA patients with HBV carrier state. Using survival curve and multivariate regression analysis, our results demonstrated two innovative risk factors of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy, discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis and past history of hepatitis.

DMARDs can cause unopposed HBV replication or reactivation in liver by suppressing host immune response (e.g. HBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte) [11]. Therefore, HBV reactivation is described mainly on virological terms about serum HBV-DNA with a 10-fold rise or switching from undetectable to detectable. HBeAg seroconversion from negative to positive is also a definition of HBV reactivation. However, our result showed that none of 10 patients with HBV reactivation and negative HBeAg had HBeAg seroconversion. Abolishing or downregulating the production of HBeAg may be partly explained by mutations of the precore or basal core prompter [12]. Detection of serum HBV-DNA may be more important than HBeAg while monitoring the occurrence of HBV reactivation.

Clinical manifestations of HBV reactivation were attributed to elevated HBV-DNA replication and liver injury. Elevated HBV-DNA replication, although asymptomatic sometimes, can induce random integration of HBV-DNA into the host DNA in hepatocytes [6], leading to increased risk of hepatocarcinoma and decreased likelihood of HBV eradication. Liver injury manifests as elevated ALT with or without jaundice. Repeated high ALT peaks with failure to suppress HBV replication were shown to predict higher rates of cirrhosis [13]. Our results showed nearly half of RA patients with HBV reactivation developed HBV hepatitis and one patient developed decompensate cirrhosis, indicating poor outcomes of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy.

Poor patient acceptance and discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis should not be ignored for Chinese RA patients with HBV carrier state

Antiviral prophylaxis was recommended by ACR for RA patients with chronic HBV infection during DMARD treatment [8, 9]. Entecavir and tenofovir, which are nucleotide analogs with high antiviral potency and a high barrier to resistance, are both recommended as first line antiviral drugs for patients who have a high HBV-DNA level and/or may receive a lengthy and repeated cycles of immunosuppression (e.g. long-term DMARDs therapy) by European [7], American [6] and Asian-Pacific [5] associations for the study of liver disease. However, in this real-world study, although all patients were recommended entecavir or tenofovir, only 50% of patients accepted lamivudine as antiviral prophylaxis. The most important reason was the cost of antiviral drug, which is much more expensive than conventional DMARDs causing high economic burden for self-paid RA patients, not only in developing countries but also in developed countries [14]. Lamivudine resistance (up to 70% in 5 years) usually occurs after 6–9 months of lamivudine therapy and is responsible for virus breakthrough [5]. Lamivudine resistance partly correlates with YMDD mutation, which develops in 15% ~ 30% per year of HBV patients on lamivudine prophylaxis [15]. Our results showed two patients with continuous lamivudine prophylaxis developed HBV reactivation and hepatitis 8 or 14 months later, with regret that YMDD motif mutation of HBV was not tested. Ryu et al. [16] reported one case of HBV reactivation occurred due to YMDD mutation after long-term use of lamivudine in a retrospective study included 15 patients received biological DMARDs under lamivudine prophylaxis.

Withdrawal of antiviral drug usually resulted in rebound of HBV-DNA, accompanying with “flare” of ALT in 19 ~ 50% of patients [17]. Our study showed 71% of patients who discontinued antiviral prophylaxis developed HBV reactivation 3 ~ 21 months after discontinuation. Both survival curve and regression analysis proved that discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis was risk factor of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy. Therefore, discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis may be important reason for high prevalence of HBV reactivation in our observational study. Thus, antiviral prophylaxis should be insisted once begun and continued minimal 6 ~ 12 months after suspension of immunosuppressant. Rheumatologists should choose antiviral drugs according to guidelines and informing patients the serious consequences of antiviral drugs discontinuation at each interview.

Low-dose MTX may be alternative for RA patients with HBV carrier state to control RA disease activity, while LEF should be contraindicated

Not only the risk of HBV reactivation but also the effect of DMARDs on disease activity should be considered when choosing DMARDs for RA patients with HBV carrier state. HCQ, minocycline, SSZ or SSZ + HCQ which can be used for RA patients with HBV carrier state according to guidelines [8, 9] was sometimes inadequate to control moderate to high disease activity, while biologic DMARDs are usually expensive for self-paid patients. Although contraindicated by guidelines [8] MTX and/or LEF sometimes have to be used for controlling RA disease activity. One patient in our study had repeated relapse of RA disease activity when taking HCQ alone after HBV reactivation and HBV hepatitis. After low-dose MTX was added with HCQ, her disease activity was controlled to low disease activity.

In this real-world study, 72% of RA patients had moderate to high disease activity and MTX-based DMARD combination therapy had to be used. Our study showed the prevalence of HBV reactivation in patients taking MTX + LEF was 80%, which was significantly higher than 21% in patients taking MTX alone or other MTX-based DMARD combination therapy. Further regression analysis showed LEF, but not MTX, was risk factor of DMARD-induced HBV reactivation. It was reported that LEF probably activated HBV replication by a nucleotide-reduction–associated increase of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 phosphorylation in vitro [18]. LEF is also a hepatotoxic drug causing transient elevation of serum ALT in more than 5% of patients [19]. Therefore, LEF should be contraindicated for RA patients with HBV carrier state, while low-dose MTX may be alternative to control moderate to high RA disease activity. One literature review supported this assumption and showed most cases were treated with MTX as a preferred choice [20]. However, 21% of patients taking MTX+ non-LEF DMARDs combination therapy developed HBV reactivation in our study and there are sporadic case reports on MTX-induced HBV reactivation [21–23]. Further prospective cohort study is required to explore the safety and effective of low-dose MTX+ non-LEF DMARDs combination therapy with antiviral therapy for RA patients with HBV carrier state.

Additionally, corticosteroid might promote HBV replication by activating glucocorticoid responsive elements (GRE) on HBV and the risk of high-dose corticosteroid on HBV reactivation in oncology-chemotherapy patients has been comfirmed [11]. Other than patients with hematology-oncology diseases or some other rheumatic diseases, low-dose glucocorticoids should be considered as part of the initial treatment strategy (in combination with one or more conventional DMARDs) for RA patients for up to 6 months, but should be tapered as rapidly as clinically feasible according to 2013 EULAR recommendations [24]. One small-scale prospective study showed coadministration of low-dose corticosteroid had a significant correlation with HBV reactivation among RA patients with HBV carrier state without antiviral prophylaxis [25]. Our study did not find corticosteroid as a risk factor of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy. Since our study included more patients (81%) taking low-dose corticosteroid, further study with larger sample size is needed to evaluate the exact risk of low-dose corticosteroid on HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy.

One of limitations in this study was lack of data about biologic DMARDs, since only 4 patients receiving TNF-α antagonist for 4 ~ 6 weeks were included. HBV reactivation occurred 21 ~ 24 months after discontinuation of TNF-α antagonist in 3 patients, which might be attributed to subsequent conventional DMARDs, rather than TNF-α antagonist. Recently, Costa et al. [26] reported long-term use of TNF-α antagonist alone was safe for 15 psoriatic arthritis patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the absence of specific therapy for HCV. Giannitti et al. [27] reported tocilizumab combined with cyclosporine-A was effective and safe for a RA patient with chronic HCV infection. Cyclosporine-A could control HCV replication by inhibition of cyclophilin-B (while the inhibition of calcineurin causes immunosuppressive effect) and may be safe in patients with autoimmune disorders and concomitant HCV infection [28]. However, litter is known about the safety of cyclosporine-A in patients with RA and concomitant HBV infection. Additionally, RA patients who were HBsAg-negative anti-HBc-positive potential occult carriers [29] should also be emphasized.

Conclusions

The results of our study suggest that poor patient acceptance and discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis should not be ignored for Chinese RA patients with HBV carrier state in real-world clinical practice. Discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis, past history of hepatitis and LEF might increase risk of HBV reactivation for RA patients with HBV carrier state during DMARDs therapy.

Notes

Abbreviations

HBV: 

Hepatitis B Virus

HBsAg: 

Surface Antigen of HBV

ALT: 

Alanine Amino-Transferase

RA: 

Rheumatoid Arthritis

DMARDs: 

Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drug

ACR: 

American College of Rheumatology

HCQ: 

Hydroxychloroquine

MTX: 

Methotrexate

LEF: 

Leflunomide

EULAR: 

European League Against Rheumatism

TBiL: 

Total Billirubin

HBsAb: 

Antibody to HBsAg

HBeAg: 

E Antigen of HBV

HBeAb: 

Antibody to HBeAg

HBcAb: 

Antibody to Core Antigen of HBV

OR: 

Odds ratio

CI: 

Confidence interval

MAPK: 

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

GRE: 

Glucocorticoid rresponsive elements

HCV: 

Hepatitis C virus.

Declarations

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all patients who accepted this clinical follow-up. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 81471597), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (Grant no.20130171110075) and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant no.S2013010014396) to L. Dai; Medical Scientific Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (Grant no. A2013201) to Y-Q. Mo.

Authors’ Affiliations

(1)
Department of Rheumatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 107# Yan Jiang West Road, Guangzhou, 510120, People’s Republic of China
(2)
Division of Rheumatology, VA Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania, University &, Woodland Aves, Philadelphia, PA, USA

References

  1. Liang X, Bi S, Yang W, Wang L, Cui G, Cui F, Zhang Y, Liu J, Gong X, Chen Y, Wang F, Zheng H, Wang F, Guo J, Jia Z, Ma J, Wang H, Luo H, Li L, Jin S, Hadler SC, Wang Y: Epidemiological serosurvey of hepatitis B in China–declining HBV prevalence due to hepatitis B vaccination. Vaccine. 2009, 27: 6550-6557. 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.08.048.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Liaw YF, Chu CM: Hepatitis B virus infection. Lancet. 2009, 373: 582-592. 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60207-5.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Zou CJ, Zhu LJ, Li YH, Mo YQ, Zheng DH, Ma JD, Ou-Yang X, Pessler F, Dai L: The association between hepatitis B virus infection and disease activity, synovitis, or joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 2013, 32: 787-795. 10.1007/s10067-013-2170-1.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Vassilopoulos D, Calabrese LH: Management of rheumatic disease with comorbid HBV or HCV infection. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2012, 8: 348-357. 10.1038/nrrheum.2012.63.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Liaw YF, Kao JH, Piratvisuth T, Chan LY, Chien RN, Liu CJ, Gane E, Locarnini S, Lim SG, Han KH, Amarapurkar , Cooksley G, Jafri W, Mohamed R, Hou JL, Chuang WL, Lesmana LA, Sollano JD, Suh DJ, Omata M: Asian-Pacific consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B: a 2012 update. Hepatol Int. 2012, 6: 531-561. 10.1007/s12072-012-9365-4.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Lok AS, McMahon BJ: Chronic hepatitis B: update 2009. Hepatology. 2009, 50: 661-662. 10.1002/hep.23190.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. European Association For The Study Of The Liver: EASL clinical practice guidelines: management of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. J Hepatol. 2012, 57: 167-185.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
  8. Saag KG, Teng GG, Patkar NM, Anuntiyo J, Finney C, Curtis JR, Paulus HE, Mudano A, Pisu M, Elkins-Melton M, Outman R, Allison JJ, Suarez Almazor M, Bridges SL, Chatham WW, Hochberg M, MacLean C, Mikuls T, Moreland LW, O'Dell J, Turkiewicz AM, Furst DE, American College of Rheumatology: American College of Rheumatology 2008 recommendations for the use of nonbiologic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2008, 59: 762-784. 10.1002/art.23721.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Singh JA, Furst DE, Bharat A, Curtis JR, Kavanaugh AF, Kremer JM, Moreland LW, O'Dell J, Winthrop KL, Beukelman T, Bridges SL, Chatham WW, Paulus HE, Suarez-Almazor M, Bombardier C, Dougados M, Khanna D, King CM, Leong AL, Matteson EL, Schousboe JT, Moynihan E, Kolba KS, Jain A, Volkmann ER, Agrawal H, Bae S, Mudano AS, Patkar NM, Saag KG: 2012 update of the 2008 American College of Rheumatology recommendations for the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012, 64: 625-639. 10.1002/acr.21641.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
  10. Yeo W, Chan PK, Zhong S, Ho WM, Steinberg JL, Tam JS, Hui P, Leung NW, Zee B, Johnson PJ: Frequency of hepatitis B virus reactivation in cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy: a prospective study of 626 patients with identification of risk factors. J Med Virol. 2000, 62: 299-307. 10.1002/1096-9071(200011)62:3<299::AID-JMV1>3.0.CO;2-0.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Hwang JP, Lok AS: Management of patients with hepatitis B who require immunosuppressive therapy. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2014, 11: 209-219.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Liaw YF: Natural history of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and long-term outcome under treatment. Liver Int. 2009, 29 (Suppl 1): 100-107.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Tai DI, Lin SM, Sheen IS, Chu CM, Lin DY, Liaw YF: Long-term outcome of hepatitis B e antigen-negative hepatitis B surface antigen carriers in relation to changes of alanine aminotransferase levels over time. Hepatology. 2009, 49: 1859-1867. 10.1002/hep.22878.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Malespin M, Wong S, Siqueira F, Luc B, Ravaee B, Vainder C, Cotler SJ: Barriers to treatment of hepatitis B in an urban Chinatown community. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2012, 46: e66-e70. 10.1097/MCG.0b013e31824e159c.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Dienstag JL: Hepatitis B virus infection. N Engl J Med. 2008, 359: 1486-1500. 10.1056/NEJMra0801644.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Ryu HH, Lee EY, Shin K, Choi IA, Lee YJ, Yoo B, Park MC, Park YB, Bae SC, Yoo WH, Kim SI, Lee EB, Song YW: Hepatitis B virus reactivation in rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis patients treated with anti-TNFα agents: a retrospective analysis of 49 cases. Clin Rheumatol. 2012, 31: 931-936. 10.1007/s10067-012-1960-1.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. Lim SG, Wai CT, Rajnakova A, Kajiji T, Guan R: Fatal hepatitis B reactivation following discontinuation of nucleoside analogues for chronic hepatitis B. Gut. 2002, 51: 597-599. 10.1136/gut.51.4.597.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
  18. Hoppe-Seyler K, Sauer P, Lohrey C, Hoppe-Seyler F: The inhibitors of nucleotide biosynthesis leflunomide, FK778, and mycophenolic acid activate hepatitis B virus replication in vitro. Hepatology. 2012, 56: 9-16. 10.1002/hep.25602.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Emery P, Breedveld FC, Lemmel EM, Kaltwasser JP, Dawes PT, Gömör B, Van Den Bosch F, Nordström D, Bjorneboe O, Dahl R, Horslev-Petersen K, Rodriguez De La Serna A, Molloy M, Tikly M, Oed C, Rosenburg R, Loew-Friedrich I: A comparison of the efficacy and safety of leflunomide and methotrexate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2000, 39: 655-665. 10.1093/rheumatology/39.6.655.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
  20. Xuan D, Yu Y, Shao L, Wang J, Zhang W, Zou H: Hepatitis reactivation in patients with rheumatic diseases after immunosuppressive therapy–a report of long-term follow-up of serial cases and literature review. Clin Rheumatol. 2014, 33: 577-586. 10.1007/s10067-013-2450-9.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  21. Gwak GY, Koh KC, Kim HY: Fatal hepatic failure associated with hepatitis B virus reactivation in a hepatitis B surface antigen-negative patient with rheumatoid arthritis receiving low dose methotrexate. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2007, 25: 888-889.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Ostuni P, Botsios C, Punzi L, Sfriso P, Todesco S: Hepatitis B reactivation in a chronic hepatitis B surface antigen carrier with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab and low dose methotrexate. Ann Rheum Dis. 2003, 62: 686-687. 10.1136/ard.62.7.686.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
  23. Ito S, Nakazono K, Murasawa A, Mita Y, Hata K, Saito N, Kikuchi M, Yoshida K, Nakano M, Gejyo F: Development of fulminant hepatitis B (precore variant mutant type) after the discontinuation of low-dose methotrexate therapy in a rheumatoid arthritis patient. Arthritis Rheum. 2001, 44: 339-342. 10.1002/1529-0131(200102)44:2<339::AID-ANR51>3.0.CO;2-Q.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. Smolen JS, Landewé R, Breedveld FC, Buch M, Burmester G, Dougados M, Emery P, Gaujoux-Viala C, Gossec L, Nam J, Ramiro S, Winthrop K, de Wit M, Aletaha D, Betteridge N, Bijlsma JW, Boers M, Buttgereit F, Combe B, Cutolo M, Damjanov N, Hazes JM, Kouloumas M, Kvien TK, Mariette X, Pavelka K, van Riel PL, Rubbert-Roth A, Scholte-Voshaar M, Scott DL, Sokka-Isler T, Wong JB, van der Heijde D: EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2013 update. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014, 73: 492-509.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Tan J, Zhou J, Zhao P, Wei J: Prospective study of HBV reactivation risk in rheumatoid arthritis patients who received conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Clin Rheumatol. 2012, 31: 1169-1175. 10.1007/s10067-012-1988-2.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Costa L, Caso F, Atteno M, Giannitti C, Spadaro A, Ramonda R, Vezzù M, Del Puente A, Morisco F, Fiocco U, Galeazzi M, Punzi L, Scarpa R: Long-term safety of anti-TNF-α in PsA patients with concomitant HCV infection: a retrospective observational multicenter study on 15 patients. Clin Rheumatol. 2014, 33: 273-276. 10.1007/s10067-013-2378-0.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. Giannitti C, Fineschi I, Frediani B, Fioravanti A, Galeazzi M: Efficacy and safety of tocilizumab combined with cyclosporine A in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and concomitant chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2013, 31: 816-PubMedGoogle Scholar
  28. Galeazzi M, Bellisai F, Giannitti C, Manganelli S, Morozzi G, Sebastiani GD: Safety of cyclosporin A in HCV-infected patients: experience with cyclosporin A in patients affected byrheumatological disorders and concomitant HCV infection. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007, 1110: 544-549. 10.1196/annals.1423.058.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Giannitti C, Sebastiani GD, Manganelli S, Galeazzi M: Safety of anti-tumor necrosis factor agents in rheumatic potential carriers of occult hepatitis B virus. J Rheumatol. 2011, 38: 780-781. 10.3899/jrheum.101157.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar

    30. Pre-publication history

    1. The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/15/449/prepub

Copyright

© Mo et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Advertisement

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

Contact us