Findings seen for those with normal alanine transaminase and especially for patients with HBV DNA \u22652,000 IU\/mL<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Continuous nucleos(t)ide analog\u00a0treatment is effective in lowering the risk for liver cirrhosis in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B patients, according to a study published in the December issue of the\u00a0Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Jing Zhou, from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, and colleagues analyzed 194 HBeAg-negative patients with normal alanine transaminase and positive hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA (\u00e2\u0089\u00a520 IU\/mL) who were untreated, continued treatment, and discontinued treatment (67, 87, and 40 patients, respectively).<\/p>\n The researchers found that during a median follow-up of 54 months, the treatment-continued group achieved 100 percent virological response and significantly reduced aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index and fibrosis-4 index scores. Compared with the untreated group, the risk for liver nodules and cirrhosis in the treatment-continued group was reduced. Results were similar compared with the treatment-discontinued group. Among patients with HBV DNA \u00e2\u0089\u00a52,000 IU\/mL, adherence to treatment lowered the risks for liver cirrhosis compared with both the untreated and the treatment-discontinued groups. Hepatocellular carcinoma was reported by one patient in each of the untreated and treatment-discontinued groups, but not in the treatment-continued group.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The indications of antiviral therapy should be expanded in that population, especially for those with HBV DNA levels \u00e2\u0089\u00a52,000 IU\/mL,” the authors write. “After treatment is initiated, patient medication compliance needs to be monitored continuously.”<\/p>\n