Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • First Release
    • Current
    • Archives
    • Collections
    • Audiovisual Rheum
    • COVID-19 and Rheumatology
  • Resources
    • Guide for Authors
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Payment
    • Reviewers
    • Advertisers
    • Classified Ads
    • Reprints and Translations
    • Permissions
    • Meetings
    • FAQ
    • Policies
  • Subscribers
    • Subscription Information
    • Purchase Subscription
    • Your Account
    • Terms and Conditions
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Duncan A. Gordon Award
    • Privacy/GDPR Policy
    • Accessibility
  • Contact Us
  • JRheum Supplements
  • Services

User menu

  • My Cart
  • Log In

Search

  • Advanced search
The Journal of Rheumatology
  • JRheum Supplements
  • Services
  • My Cart
  • Log In
The Journal of Rheumatology

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • First Release
    • Current
    • Archives
    • Collections
    • Audiovisual Rheum
    • COVID-19 and Rheumatology
  • Resources
    • Guide for Authors
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Payment
    • Reviewers
    • Advertisers
    • Classified Ads
    • Reprints and Translations
    • Permissions
    • Meetings
    • FAQ
    • Policies
  • Subscribers
    • Subscription Information
    • Purchase Subscription
    • Your Account
    • Terms and Conditions
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Duncan A. Gordon Award
    • Privacy/GDPR Policy
    • Accessibility
  • Contact Us
  • Follow jrheum on Twitter
  • Visit jrheum on Facebook
  • Follow jrheum on LinkedIn
  • Follow jrheum on YouTube
  • Follow jrheum on Instagram
  • Follow jrheum on RSS
LetterCorrespondence

Is Screening for Hepatitis Necessary in Diagnostic Evaluation of Rheumatoid Arthritis in South Korea?

DUCK-AN KIM and THINK-YOU KIM
The Journal of Rheumatology March 2010, 37 (3) 674-675; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.090886
DUCK-AN KIM
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
THINK-YOU KIM
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: tykim@hanyang.ac.kr
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
  • eLetters
PreviousNext
Loading

To the Editor:

We read with interest the article by Guennoc, et al1 reporting that seroprevalences of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) in patients with recent-onset polyarthritis who were suspected of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), were very low and were not different compared to the general population. Thus, they proposed that serological testing for HBV and HCV is unnecessary in routine diagnostic evaluation for these patients. Currently in our institution, simultaneous serological testing for HBV and HCV and even hepatitis A (HAV) is performed on patients suspected of RA as part of a routine diagnostic evaluation. We performed this study to also check the usefulness of such routine diagnostic evaluation of hepatitis.

We investigated the hepatitis test results in patients who visited The Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases and were diagnosed with RA during an 8-year period, from January 2001 to December 2008. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive was found in 3.5% of patients (140/3946), while anti-HCV-positive was found in 1.1% of patients (38/3448). The HAV-IgM test used for the diagnosis of HAV was positive in 3.77% of patients (140/2594). Looking at the yearly trend of positive rates, there was a decreasing trend for HBsAg, but no large change was seen for anti-HCV (Figure 1). For HAV, yearly positive rates showed large fluctuations and there was an abrupt increase in 2008 (Figure 2).

Figure 1.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Figure 1.

Annual positive rates for serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) and anti-hepatitis C (HCV) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 3946 for HbsAg, n = 3448 for anti-HCV).

Figure 2.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Figure 2.

Annual positive rates for serum anti-HAV-IgM in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 2594).

Korea had high HBsAg-positive rates of 7% to 8% in the 1980s, but the figures fell to 4.4% in men and 3.0% in women in 2005 through continuous vaccination programs2. These figures did not differ much from the results we obtained from patients with RA. However, the positive rate was higher than the result reported by Guennoc, et al (0.86%). The anti-HCV-positive rate was known to be around 1% in Korean adults2, and this was similar to our result. However, the positive rate was lower than the anti-HCV result reported by them.

As Korea achieved rapid economic development since the mid-1970s, changes appeared in the positive rate of the HAV antibody. According to data from the end of the 1970s, 100% of the domestic population above age 15 had the antibody, but by the end of the 1990s there was a distinct decrease. In people under age 20 years, the positive rate was a very low 20%. The rate was 40%–60% for ages 20–30, and 80%–90% for those older than 303. According to Jung, et al, positive rates of the antibody were 1.8% for those under 24 years, 14.7% for ages 25–29, 41.8% for ages 30–34, 75.5% for ages 35–39, and 93.7% for ages above 40 years. These rates indicated the high possibility of HAV infection in the age group between 20 and 40 years4. In our study of patients with RA, there was a suspicious outbreak of HAV infection in 2008, and this was confirmed by data from the Korean Center for Disease Control2.

Although Guennoc and colleagues proposed that routine screening for HBV and HCV is not needed in their region, we believe that the HBV test should be included in the diagnosis of RA since there is still a high prevalence of HBV hepatitis in Korea. However, we think that the test for HCV could be discarded. Also, since the HAV is the most common type of acute hepatitis, we believe that the test for HAV must be included.

REFERENCES

  1. 1.↵
    1. Guennoc X,
    2. Narbonne V,
    3. Jousse-Joulin S,
    4. Devauchelle-Pensec V,
    5. Dougados M,
    6. Daurès JP,
    7. et al.
    Is screening for hepatitis B and hepatitis C useful in patients with recent-onset polyarthritis? The ESPOIR cohort study. J Rheumatol 2009;36:1407–13.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. 2.↵
    1. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    . [Internet. Accessed November 13, 2009.] Available from: http://www.cdc.go.kr/.
  3. 3.↵
    1. Lee EJ,
    2. Kwon SY,
    3. Seo TH,
    4. Yun HS,
    5. Cho HS,
    6. Kim BK,
    7. et al.
    Clinical features of acute hepatitis A in recent two years. Korean J Gastroenterol 2008;52:298–303.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  4. 4.↵
    1. Jung SI,
    2. Lee CS,
    3. Park KH,
    4. Kim ES,
    5. Kim YJ,
    6. Kim GS,
    7. et al.
    Sero-epidemiology of hepatitis A virus infection among healthcare workers in Korean hospitals. J Hosp Infect 2009;72:251–7.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Rheumatology
Vol. 37, Issue 3
1 Mar 2010
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by Author
  • Editorial Board (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about The Journal of Rheumatology.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Is Screening for Hepatitis Necessary in Diagnostic Evaluation of Rheumatoid Arthritis in South Korea?
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from The Journal of Rheumatology
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the The Journal of Rheumatology web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Is Screening for Hepatitis Necessary in Diagnostic Evaluation of Rheumatoid Arthritis in South Korea?
DUCK-AN KIM, THINK-YOU KIM
The Journal of Rheumatology Mar 2010, 37 (3) 674-675; DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.090886

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero

 Request Permissions

Share
Is Screening for Hepatitis Necessary in Diagnostic Evaluation of Rheumatoid Arthritis in South Korea?
DUCK-AN KIM, THINK-YOU KIM
The Journal of Rheumatology Mar 2010, 37 (3) 674-675; DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.090886
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
  • eLetters

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Dr. Putman et al reply
  • Drs. Chung and McMahan reply
  • Dr. Deng et al reply
Show more Correspondence

Similar Articles

Content

  • First Release
  • Current
  • Archives
  • Collections
  • Audiovisual Rheum
  • COVID-19 and Rheumatology

Resources

  • Guide for Authors
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Author Payment
  • Reviewers
  • Advertisers
  • Classified Ads
  • Reprints and Translations
  • Permissions
  • Meetings
  • FAQ
  • Policies

Subscribers

  • Subscription Information
  • Purchase Subscription
  • Your Account
  • Terms and Conditions

More

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • My Alerts
  • My Folders
  • Privacy/GDPR Policy
  • RSS Feeds
The Journal of Rheumatology
The content of this site is intended for health care professionals.
Copyright © 2022 by The Journal of Rheumatology Publishing Co. Ltd.
Print ISSN: 0315-162X; Online ISSN: 1499-2752
Powered by HighWire