Abstract

Objectives: To determine serum Interleukin-6 levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and to investigate the association between serum Interleukin-6 levels and several characteristics related to disease progression in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional case-control study with a control comparison was conducted on 50 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and 35 healthy individuals who visited Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital from May 2024 to May 2025. Results: The median and interquartile range of serum Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in 50 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection were 240.4 (21.4 - 523.4) pg/mL, and in the healthy control group were 6.5 (5.5 - 7.8) pg/mL; p < 0.001. ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.971; at a cut-off value of 8.4 pg/mL, IL-6 had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 91.4%. IL-6 showed a fairly strong positive correlation with disease detection time (r = 0.64; p < 0.001). According to HBeAg status, the proportion of IL-6 above the threshold was higher in the HBeAg-positive group than in the HBeAg-negative group (p = 0.018). There was a moderate positive correlation between IL-6 and AST (r = 0.324; p = 0.022), ALT (r = 0.384; p = 0.006), and HBV-DNA viral load (r = 0.454; p = 0.003). 24 TẠP CHÍ Y DƯỢC HUẾ - HUE JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY ISSN 3030-4318; eISSN: 3030-4326 Conclusion: Serum IL-6 levels were significantly elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection compared with healthy controls and were positively correlated with time of disease detection, liver enzymes (ALT, AST), HBV-DNA viral load, and HBeAg status.