RESUMEN
Background and Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the clinical characteristics of chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) patients at the initiation of treatment over a 15-years period. Materials and Methods: The study included 659 treatment-naive CHB patients who started receiving nucleos(t)ide analogs between January 2006 and December 2020. The patients included in the study were divided into three groups of five years each, according to the start date of treatment. Results: The mean age was 46.2±14.5 years and 445 (67.5%) were male. Two hundred and five (31.1%) patients had cirrhosis. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) developed in forty-one patients (6.2%). Compared to patients in Group 1, Group 2 were younger and had lower decompensated cirrhosis, HCC and ascites, had higher Child A cirrhosis (all p<0.05). Cirrhosis and esophageal varices were higher in patients in Group 3 compared to patients in Group 2 (all p<0.05). Entecavir or tenofovir use increased from 66.5% in Group 1 to 99.2% in Group 3 (p<0.05). Conclusion: The mean age at initiation of treatment for CHB patients increased. The patients had less cirrhosis. In the last 5 years, almost all patients were treated with entecavir or tenofovir.
RESUMEN
Background and Aim: The impact of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and nucleos(t)ide analogue (NUC) treatment on disease severity and clinical outcomes in patients with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether HBV infection and the use of NUCs impacts mortality in patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A total of 231 adult patients (77 with COVID-19 and HBV coinfection) with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Univariate and binary logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the risk factors for mortality from COVID-19. Results: Patients with COVID-19 and HBV coinfection had a similar rate of mortality to those without HBV coinfection (7.8% vs 9.7%; p=0.627). Cardiovascular disease (odds ratio [OR]: 8.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52-44.2; p=0.014) and a high basal aspartate transaminase level (OR: 7.94, 95% CI: 1.81-34.8; p=0.006) were independent predictors of mortality due to COVID-19. In the COVID-19 and HBV coinfection group, the patients who died had a significantly higher median level of HBV DNA than patients who survived (378 IU/mL vs 0 IU/mL; p=0.048). Thirty (39%) patients with HBV coinfection received NUC treatment, and none of these patients died. Conclusion: HBV infection was not associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19, and it seems that NUC treatment for HBV infection might have an antiviral effect on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.