Recent findings suggest that reactivation of
hepatitis B (HB) virus (HBV) in
renal transplantation recipients with a past HBV
infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. In the present study, we reviewed the clinical and virologic courses of past HBV
infections in recipients following
renal transplantation. We retrospectively analyzed pretransplant HB
surface antigen (
HBsAg), HB core antibody (HBcAb), HB surface antibody (HBsAb), and HBV
deoxyribonucleic acid (
DNA) levels in 147 patients who underwent
renal transplantation at our institution between September 2000 and November 2011. Thirty-four (23.1%) of the patients were diagnosed with a past HBV
infection. The mean age of patients with a past HBV
infection was significantly older than that of those without (48.4 vs 41.1 years, P = .002), while the duration of
hemodialysis (HD) was significantly longer (138 vs 79.5 months, P = .027) and ratio of cadaveric
transplantation procedures was higher (41.2% vs 21.2%, P = .035). During the follow-up period after
renal transplantation,
HBsAg was negative, HBV
DNA was undetectable, and serum
alanine aminotransferase level was normal in all patients. There were no statistically differences for graft and patient survival, and serum
creatinine level between patients with and without a past HBV
infection. Our results indicate that a past HBV
infection is significantly associated with older age, longer duration of HD, and cadaveric
transplantation. However, no HBV reactivation occurred in our previously infected patients, and the presence of HBcAb or HBsAb positivity did not influence graft or patient survival or renal function following
renal transplantation.