Risk of Reactivation of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Psoriasis Patients Treated With Biologics: A Retrospective Analysis of 20 Cases From the BIOBADADERM Database.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: A 5% risk of reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported in patients with diseases other than psoriasis treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of HBV reactivation in patients with a past history of HBV infection who were receiving biologic therapy for psoriasis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a multicenter study of 20 patients with psoriasis who were treated with at least 1 biologic agent. All the patients had serologic evidence of past HBV infection (positive total hepatitis B core antibody and negative hepatitis B surface antibody). We analyzed the clinical, serological, and liver function variables recorded before, during, and at the end of follow-up. The viral load at the end of follow-up was also analyzed for all patients.

RESULTS: None of the patients fulfilled the criteria for HBV reactivation at the end of a median follow-up period of 40 months. Combining our data with data from other studies of psoriasis patients with a past history of HBV infection who were treated with a biologic, we calculated a maximum estimated risk of HBV reactivation for a mean follow-up period of 30 months of 2.7 reactivations per 100 patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Biologic therapy did not cause HBV reactivation in our series of patients. Nonetheless, because of the potentially serious complications associated with HBV reactivation, it is important to measure viral load in patients with a history of HBV infection prior to initiation of biologic therapy to rule out occult carriage. These patients should also be monitored regularly in conjunction with a hepatologist.