OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B and C serology in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). METHODS: This is a transversal study with 47 patients with primary APS (Sapporo's criteria). Demographic and clinical data, medications, and hepatitis B and C serologies, with PCR in positive cases, were evaluated. RESULTS: The study population had a mean age of 38±11 years, 80.8% were females, and 68% Caucasian. The mean duration of the disease was 67 ± 61 months (ranging from 1 to 240 months). Arterial events were seen in 61.7% of the patients, venous events in 51%, and obstetric events in 38.3%. Five (10.6%) patients with primary APS had positive serologies for hepatitis B or C. Three of them were positive for anti-HBs, and only one was anti-HBc positive; the other two patients were positive for hepatitis C. Qualitative PCR did not detect hepatitis C viral RNA in neither of the positive patients. CONCLUSION: A small percentage of patients with primary APS had positive serology for hepatitis B and C, and all represented cases post-vaccine or serology scar.
antiphospholipid syndrome; primary antiphospholipid syndrome; seroprevalence; hepatitis; hepatitis B; hepatitis C
