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BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant global health problem, especially in China. Chronic liver disease affects health related quality of life (HRQOL). The intervention method to improve HRQOL in patients with hepatitis B has been one-dimensional with inconsistent results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of comprehensive intervention on health-related quality of life and provide guidance on improving HRQOL for patients with chronic hepatitis B.MethodsPatients with chronic hepatitis B eligible for our study were randomly selected in three model regions of Jiangsu Province in June 2010. 272 patients were invited and 254 took part, with a refusal rate of 6.62%. Comprehensive intervention included government support, technical guidance from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, standardised medical care, and community involvement. HRQOL before and 1 year after intervention was measured with the Short Form 36 and HBV-specific health surveys. Chi-square test, t-test and multiple linear regressive analyses were used.ResultsAfter comprehensive intervention, the HRQOL in patients with chronic hepatitis B showed significantly improvements in bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, and mental, as well as physical and mental component score (p < 0.05). Family and social support increased, and financial concerns decreased (p < 0.05). Marital status, duration of illness-related absence from work, education level, family financial status, and health insurance type were important factors affecting HRQOL change between the baseline and final assessment in patients with chronic hepatitis B.ConclusionThe comprehensive intervention was effective in improving the HRQOL of patients with chronic hepatitis B.Trial registrationChiCTR-OCH-12001882

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The purpose of this study was to explore direct economic burden and its influencing factors in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) related diseases. Time phasing continuous sampling was used to select patients from August 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012, in 3 county hospitals of 3 model regions in Jiangsu Province, China. A total of 436 outpatients and 196 inpatients were observed. The average direct economic burden of HBV-associated admission was US$107.11 for outpatients, and drug fees accounted for 74%; the burden was US$3193.47 for inpatients, and the direct medical costs accounted for 96%. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that drug fee, examination fee, and antiviral therapy were influencing factors for outpatients, while hospitalization stay, drug ratio, and patient's age were influencing factors for inpatients. It can be concluded that the direct economic burden of patients with HBV-related diseases was high compared to their household income. Measures should be taken to reduce the economic burden of patients.

Objective:The purpose of this study was to analyze the economic burden of inpatients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related diseases and the influencing factors so as to provide an effective basis for the development of health prevention and control strategies.Methods: The patients were selected by means of successive sampling in the period between August and December 2012 from those who were diagnosed with HBV-related diseases and hospitalized in county-level medical institutions of Jiangsu Province. One hundred ninetysix patients were studied, including 3 patients with acute HBV, 141 with chronic HBV, 18 with compensatory cirrhosis, 22 with decompensated cirrhosis, and 12 with liver cancer. This study adopted a questionnaire method to investigate and calculate the direct and indirect economic burden of the subjects according to disease economic burden theories and methods. Multiple linear stepwise regression was used for analysis of the influencing factors for economic burden of inpatients with HBV-related diseases. Results:The average economic burden for the 196 inpatients investigated was RMB 28,971. The direct economic burden was RMB 19,916 (68.7%), including direct medical costs (RMB 19,087; 95.8%) and direct non-medical costs (RMB 829; 4.2%). The indirect economic burden was RMB 9055 (31.3%), including patient-related expenses (RMB 6348; 70.1%) and nursing expenses (RMB 2707; 29.9%). According to the multiple linear stepwise regression analysis results, the hospital stay, proportion of medicine, age, and disease type affected the economic burden of the patients (P<0.05).Conclusion: Patients with HBV-related diseases undertake a heavy economic burden for hospitalization, especially the direct economic burden. Therefore, the inpatients' economic burden can be reduced by shortening the hospital stay, reducing the medical expenses reasonably, and delaying the progression of disease as far as possible according to medical standards.