BioMedica |

Original Article

Volume: 41 | Issue: 1 | Published: Mar 25, 2025 | Pages: 28 - 32 | DOI: 10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190

Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar

Authors: Abdul Jabbar , Salim Badshah , Muhammad Abbas , Ahmad Ali , Numan Khan , Naveedullah

Article Info

Authors

Abdul Jabbar

Department of Medicine, Qazi Hussain Ahmed Medical Complex, Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Salim Badshah

DHQ Hospital, Timergara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Muhammad Abbas

Category D Hospital Wari, Upper Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Ahmad Ali

Department of Internal Medicine, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Numan Khan

DHQ Hospital, Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Naveedullah

Medical A Ward, DHQ Hospital Timergara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Publication History

Received: August 11, 2024

Accepted: January 08, 2025

Published: March 25, 2025

Abstract

Background and Objective: Understanding the prevalence is essential for developing guidelines for screening and managing hepatitis
B virus in rheumatoid arthritis patients, particularly in settings like Peshawar, where the burden of both diseases is likely to be high and
viral infectivity may rise because of immunosuppression induced by anti-rheumatoid therapy. Therefore, this study was conducted to
determine the frequency of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis presenting at a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 231 patients diagnosed with RA. Diagnosis was confirmed using clinical assessment and laboratory investigations, including rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide. All laboratory tests were performed in a single hospital laboratory under the supervision of a senior pathologist. HBV infection was confirmed using a third-generation enzymelinked immunosorbent assay for hepatitis B surface antigen with a cut-off value of 2.0. An independent t-test was applied, keeping p < 0.05 as statistically significant.

Results: The age range of patients was 18-60 years, with 43% males and 57% females. Use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs was reported by 58% patients while steroid alone was used by 66% patients. HBV testing revealed that only 4% patients had positive and active hepatitis B virus infection. No statistical significance (p > 0.05) was observed between HBV infection and age, gender, or type of treatment.

Conclusion: The frequency of rheumatoid arthritis patients infected with Hepatitis B was very low in the population from Peshawar.
However, there is a need to screen hepatitis B virus in all patients undergoing anti-arthritic therapy for improving early diagnosis and
management in such cases.

Keywords: Hepatitis B, rheumatoid arthritis, immune-suppression, therapy, DMARDs.

Pubmed Style

Abdul Jabbar, Salim Badshah, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad Ali, Numan Khan, Naveedullah. Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar. BioMedica. 2025; 25 (March 2025): 28-32. doi:10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190

Web Style

Abdul Jabbar, Salim Badshah, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad Ali, Numan Khan, Naveedullah. Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar. https://biomedicapk.com/articles/1190 [Access: October 09, 2025]. doi:10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Abdul Jabbar, Salim Badshah, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad Ali, Numan Khan, Naveedullah. Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar. BioMedica. (2025), [cited October 09, 2025]; 25 (March 2025): 28-32. doi:10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190

Harvard Style

Abdul Jabbar, Salim Badshah, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad Ali, Numan Khan, Naveedullah (2025) Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar. BioMedica, 25 (March 2025): 28-32. doi:10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190

Chicago Style

Abdul Jabbar, Salim Badshah, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad Ali, Numan Khan, Naveedullah. "Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar." 25 (2025), 28-32. doi:10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Abdul Jabbar, Salim Badshah, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad Ali, Numan Khan, Naveedullah (2025) Frequency of hepatitis B virus infection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a study from a tertiary care centre in Peshawar. , 25 (March 2025), 28-32. doi:10.24911/BioMedica/5-1190