The association between
hepatitis B surface antigen (
HBsAg) and
hepatitis B 'e' antigen (
HBeAg) levels and liver
inflammation and
fibrosis in patients with
chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the immune clearance (IC) remains elusive. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether
HBsAg and
HBeAg levels were associated with liver
inflammation and
fibrosis in CHB patients during the IC phase. Kendall's rank correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the correlation between
HBsAg,
HBeAg and liver pathological stages. Multivariate analysis by forward logistic regression was used to analyze significant predictors of
cirrhosis. A liver pathology‑predicting model (IC model), which used routinely assessed markers in combination with
HBsAg and
HBeAg levels, was constructed. There were significantly positive correlations between the
HBsAg and
HBeAg levels (γ=0.317, P<0.001), and between the
HBsAg and HBV‑DNA levels (γ=0.489, P<0.001). However, there was no correlation between the
HBsAg and
alanine aminotransferase levels.
HBsAg and
HBeAg levels differed significantly at various liver pathological stages and declined progressively in advanced liver pathological stages. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age,
HBsAg and
HBeAg levels as well as the international normalized ratio (INR) were independent predictors of
liver fibrosis during the IC phase. The IC model had a specificity and sensitivity of 88.64 and 78.24%, respectively, a positive predictive value of 48.15% and negative predictive value of 96.79%. In conclusion,
HBsAg and
HBeAg levels were negatively and indirectly correlated with liver
inflammation and
fibrosis in CHB patients in the IC phase. The IC model reliably predicted the probability of
liver cirrhosis.