Among veterans testing positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the initial screening test for hepatitis B virus (HBV), the rates of recommended follow-up serologic testing for treatment stratification is low, according to an abstract presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD; Boston; Nov. 7-11). While the chronic HBV infection seems to be substantially higher in veterans, compared to the general U.S. population, improved adherence to testing guidelines is likely needed by care providers both in and out of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the authors say. Data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse was used to identify adult patients with any positive HBsAg result from 2002 to 2014 and to determine if additional serologic and biochemical testing recommended by the AASLD (HBeAg, HBeAb, HBcIgM, HDVAb, HDV RNA, HCVAb, HIVAb) was performed at any time following the positive HBsAg result. The researchers also determined if alanine aminotransferase (ALT; liver function testing) and HBV DNA testing was performed within 180 days from the first HBsAg-positive result. The researchers found that HBsAg screening was performed on 2,643,089 veterans, with 1.9 percent (n=50,109) testing positive. The vast majority of these positive results were […]