Table 1

 Characteristics at baseline of 266 patients with or without a flare of chronic hepatitis B

BaselineFlare (n = 67)No Flare (n = 199)p Value
*Mean (SD).
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ULN, upper limit of normal; HBV, hepatitis B virus; IFN, interferon.
Age*34 (12)35 (13)0.804
ALT* (×ULN)2.9 (1.4)4.8 (3.8)<0.001
Log HBV DNA*9.1 (1.1)9.1 (0.9)0.764
Male (%)52 (78)153 (77)0.947
Transmission (%)0.132
    Vertical18 (27)42 (21)
    (Homo)sexual7 (10)22 (11)
    Parenteral8 (12)21 (11)
    Transfusion4 (6)3 (2)
    Unknown30 (45)111 (56)
Genotype (%)0.738
    A19 (28)71 (36)
    B7 (10)16 (8)
    C11 (16)28 (14)
    D26 (39)77 (39)
Race (%)0.432
    Caucasian47 (70)149 (75)
    Asian13 (19)39 (20)
Cirrhosis (%)10 (19)14 (7)0.060
Previous lamivudine (%)8 (12)31 (16)0.459
Previous IFN (%)12 (18)47 (24)0.311
Monotherapy (%)32 (48)104 (52)
Combination therapy (%)35 (52)95 (48)0.566