Extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis B virus infection

The list of extrahepatic manifestations of HBV infection is increasing. There is evidence to suggest that polymyalgia rheumatica, another distinct connective tissue disorder, might sometimes be associated and eventually caused by HBV infection. Another disease, infantile papular acrodermatitis (Gianotti-Crosti syndrome), which is limited to the skin and characterized by mononuclear infiltrates around superficial blood vessels and endothelial swelling, is also closely associated with the presence of HB(s) Ag. Considering the spectrum of host immune response by HBV and the production of circulating immune complexes that can be selectively trapped in blood vessels of different organs, it will not be surprising if other manifestations, generalized or localized, are described in the future.