Clinical characteristics of patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes B and C
| Genotype B | Genotype C | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCP, basal core promoter; HBeAg, hepatitis B e antigen; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ULN, upper limit of normal. | |||
| †Twenty patients with genotype B and 21 patients with genotype C HBV infection had negative a polymerase chain reaction for BCP mutations and were not evaluated. | |||
| Baseline characteristics | |||
| n | 179 | 242 | |
| Age (y) (mean (SD)) | 43 (14) | 39 (13) | 0.005 |
| Age >40 y (n (%)) | 106 (60%) | 116 (48%) | 0.012 |
| Male (n (%)) | 124 (71%) | 150 (62%) | 0.095 |
| Cirrhosis (n (%)) | 22 (12%) | 26 (11%) | 0.62 |
| HBeAg+ (n (%)) | 47 (27%) | 110 (46%) | <0.001 |
| ALT | 46 (12–1072) | 54 (13–1011) | 0.075 |
| BCP mutations† (n (%)) | 62 (39%) | 151 (68%) | <0.001 |
| Follow up (weeks) | 226 (12–266) | 224 (19–295) | 0.58 |
| HBeAg trend on follow up | |||
| Persistently positive HBeAg (n (%)) | 20 (11%) | 54 (22%) | 0.005 |
| Fluctuating HBeAg status (n (%)) | 13 (7%) | 33 (14%) | 0.055 |
| Sustained HBeAg seroconversion (n (%)) | 19 (11%) | 32 (13%) | 0.51 |
| Persistently negative HBeAg (n (%)) | 127 (71%) | 123 (51%) | <0.001 |
| Peak ALT on follow up (n (%)) | 0.015 | ||
| ⩽2×ULN | 105 (59%) | 115 (47%) | |
| >2–5×ULN | 59 (33%) | 94 (39%) | |
| >5×ULN | 15 (8%) | 33 (14%) | |