Abstract

Hepatitis B Core-Related Antigen Point-of-Care Tests as a Risk Stratification Tool for Treatment Eligibility: Experience From Kenya

Downs, L. O. Okanda, D. Chirro, O. Zaharani, M. Safari, B. Aliyan, N. Andersson, M. I. Tanaka, Y. Etyang, A. O. Shimakawa, Y. Githinji, G. Matthews, P. C.
Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025; 12ofaf125

Permanent descriptor

https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofaf125

We undertook a point-of-care test for hepatitis B core-related antigen in adults with hepatitis B virus in Kilifi, Kenya. A positive test identified all individuals with a hepatitis B viral load >200 000 IU/mL and who were hepatitis B e antigen positive. It also correlated with a higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (P = .03), raised aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) (P < .001), and higher elastography scores (P = .03).