Abstract: Objective To investigate the potential value of urine hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA as a new noninvasive diagnostic
indicator for HBV-associated glomerulonephritis (HBV-GN). Methods A total of 152 patients including 66 with HBV-GN, 66
with non-HBV-GN, and 20 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) without renal disease were examined for serum and urine HBV
DNA levels using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for 5 serum HBV markers using enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assays. Results Twenty-two patients (33%) in the HBV-GN group, but none in the other two groups, were found positive for
urine HBV DNA. In the diagnosis of HBV-GN, urine HBV DNA had a high specificity (0.98), a good positive predictive value
(PPV, 0.96), and a modest negative predictive value (NPV, 0.60). Urine HBV DNA, alone or in combination with serum HBeAg,
was superior in the diagnosis of HBV-GN to the combination of urine HBV DNA with serum HBV DNA, hepatitis B surface
antigen and the hepatitis B e antigen. Conclusion Urine HBV DNA may be one of the new noninvasive diagnostic criterion for
HBV-GN.