Search

Despite worldwide vaccination campaigns, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major public health problem. The natural history ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe liver injury or failure, chronic complications or reactivation episodes. The effects of HBV on the organism are immunomediated, possibly triggering extrahepatic manifestations. Since 1971, only a few cases of pleural effusion related to HBV infection have been described. We report HBV-associated pleural effusion occurring during a viral reactivation episode. Antiviral treatment directed towards pleural effusion related to HBV infection should be dictated by underlying liver disease severity and not pleural effusion severity.

We present a rare case of a 23-year-old male incidentally detected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infectionpresenting with features suggestive of HBV-associated nephropathy. A renal biopsy specimen suggested a mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis with a full-house pattern on immunoflourescence consistent with a diagnosis of diffuse lupus nephritis. Glomerular HbeAg and HbsAg antigens were not detectable by immunofluorescence. Antiviral therapy was instituted to suppressviral replication, thereby leading to clinical and virological remission, including that of the glomerulonephritis, without the need for additional immunosuppressant therapy. This case depicts the uniqueness of the presentation of the two conditionsmimicking each other, the strategy adopted to prevent the activation of viral replication and the achievement of clinical remission.