Indication for treatment and severity of disease in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Abstract

Initial evaluation of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus is essential to identify individuals in need of immediate antiviral treatment. We analyzed results from all hepatitis B infected patients who presented to our clinical center and who had not been previously treated. We found that 26.2% of the patients met the criteria to start antiviral treatment immediately and 7.4% already suffered from advanced liver disease (advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis).

Extending treatment eligibility for chronic hepatitis B virus infection

“…Detailed regional prevalence data, estimating the proportion of patients meeting WHO treatment eligibility criteria, and identifying specific regional challenges, are required in order to invest and allocate resources for screening and testing effectively. Current estimates from patients reviewed in hospital suggests 25-34% individuals diagnosed with CHB in Europe, North America and East Africa are eligible for treatment [61][62][63][64] . In West Africa, smaller proportions of CHB cohorts meet criteria for therapy (4-18%) 65,66 .…”

Strategies for Global Elimination of Chronic HBV Infection: 2019 Update

“…Until 2015, the most widely used international HBV guidelines included The European (EASL), American (AASLD) and Asia Pacific (APASL) guidelines [36••, 37, 68]. The proportion of persons fulfilling international treatment criteria for CHB has been found to vary; 5% in The Gambia [67••], 10% in Senegal [69], 25% in Ethiopia [70••] and 26% in Germany [71]. This heterogeneity between studies is likely to be explained by study bias in the place of testing or indication for testing, with lower values representing testing in the community where those at earlier stages of disease are diagnosed.…”