[Clinical study on hepatitis D virus-positive patients died from severe hepatitis B].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the role of hepatitis D virus (HDV) in the development of severe hepatitis B.

METHODS

Seventy-six HDV-positive patients died from severe hepatitis B were compared with 244 HDV-negative patients from severe hepatitis B in clinical manifestations, signs, complications and main biochemical indexes at the same period.

RESULTS

HDV-positive patients had obvious ascites, abdominal distension, digestive tract hemorrhage as compared with the HDV-negative ones (P<0.05). There were significant differences in hepatorenal syndrome, bacterial infection, manifold complications, the levels of total bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase, and the activity of prothrombin between the patients of the two groups (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

HDV can aggravate severe hepatitis B.