Prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and latent tuberculosis co‐infection and risk of drug‐induced liver injury across two large HBV cohorts in the United States

Abstract

AbstractThe epidemiology of latent tuberculosis and hepatitis B virus (HBV‐LTBI) co‐infection among U.S. populations is not well studied. We aim to evaluate LTBI testing patterns and LTBI prevalence among two large U.S. cohorts of adults with chronic HBV (CHB). Adults with CHB in the Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study (CHeCS) and Veterans Affairs national cohort were included in the analyses. Prevalence of HBV‐LTBI co‐infection was defined as the number of HBV patients with LTBI divided by the number of HBV patients in a cohort. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated odds of HBV‐LTBI co‐infection among CHB patients who underwent TB testing. Among 6019 CHB patients in the CHeCS cohort (44% female, 47% Asian), 9.1% were tested for TB, among whom 7.7% had HBV‐LTBI co‐infection. Among HBV‐LTBI co‐infected patient, only 16.7% (n = 7) received LTBI treatment, among whom 28.6% (n = 2) developed DILI. Among 12,928 CHB patients in the VA cohort (94% male, 42% African American, 39% non‐Hispanic white), 14.7% were tested for TB, among whom 14.5% had HBV‐LTBI. Among HBV‐LTBI co‐infected patient, 18.6% (n = 51) received LTBI treatment, among whom 3.9% (n = 3) developed DILI. Presence of cirrhosis, race/ethnicity, and country of birth were observed to be associated with odds of HBV‐LTBI co‐infection among CHB patients who received TB testing. In summary, among two large distinct U.S. cohorts of adults with CHB, testing for LTBI was infrequent despite relatively high prevalence of HBV‐LTBI co‐infection. Moreover, low rates of LTBI treatment were observed among those with HBV‐LTBI co‐infection.