Characteristics of patients by HBsAg seroclearance in the entire and propensity score-matched cohorts
| Entire cohort | Propensity score-matched cohort (1:4 pairs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | HBsAg seroclearance | No HBsAg seroclearance | p Value | HBsAg seroclearance | No HBsAg seroclearance | p Value |
| N | 110 | 5299 | – | 93 | 372 | – |
| Age*, years | 42±10 | 45±11 | 0.02 | 42±10 | 44±11 | 0.32 |
| Male, n (%) | 84 (76.4) | 3615 (68.2) | 0.31 | 72 (77.4) | 261(70.2) | 0.17 |
| HBeAg-positive, n (%) | 55 (50.0) | 3546 (66.9) | 0.01 | 52 (55.9) | 224 (60.2) | 0.45 |
| HBV DNA*, log10 IU/mL | 5.9±2.7 | 7.4±1.4 | <0.01 | 7.3±1.3 | 7.0±1.3 | 0.06 |
| ALT†, IU/L | 154 (67–340) | 115 (62–225) | 0.03 | 182 (101–399) | 135 (61–257) | 0.45 |
| Albumin†, g/dL | 4.0 (3.5–4.2) | 3.8 (3.3–4.1) | 0.02 | 4.0 (3.5–4.1) | 3.9 (3.4–4.2) | 0.53 |
| Bilirubin†, mg/dL | 1.2 (1.0–1.8) | 1.2 (0.9–1.6) | 0.08 | 1.1 (1.0–1.6) | 1.1 (0.8–1.5) | 0.70 |
| INR† | 1.18 (1.00–1.17) | 1.10 (1.00–1.20) | 0.95 | 1.08 (1.00–1.18) | 1.10 (1.00–1.20) | 0.21 |
| Platelet† (×103/μL) | 151 (100–190) | 144 (96–190) | 0.69 | 151 (105–190) | 161 (121–202) | 0.08 |
| Cirrhosis, n (%) | 34 (30.9) | 2650 (50.0) | <0.01 | 29 (31.2) | 136 (36.6) | 0.33 |
| Antiviral therapy | <0.01 | 0.08 | ||||
| Lamivudine, n (%) | 107 (97.3) | 3301 (62.3) | 90 (96.8) | 339 (91.1) | ||
| Entecavir, n (%) | 3 (2.7) | 1998 (37.7) | 3 (3.2) | 33 (8.9) | ||
| Selection for drug-resistance HBV mutants‡, n (%) | 37 (33.6) | 1711 (32.3) | 0.77 | 36 (38.7) | 138 (37.1) | 0.77 |
| Overall treatment duration†, years | 4.3 (2.1–6.8) | 4.0 (2.1–7.1) | 0.91 | 4.2 (2.1–6.9) | 5.3 (2.2–9.6) | <0.01 |
| Overall follow-up period†, years | 9.8 (7.5–12.0) | 6.0 (3.3–9.5) | <0.01 | 9.6 (7.7–11.9) | 9.6 (6.5–11.9) | 0.06 |
Characteristics of patients are at the initiation of antiviral therapy unless specified.
Cirrhosis was diagnosed when ultrasonography or CT scanning revealed liver surface nodularity with splenomegaly.
Propensity scores were derived from the variables at the treatment initiation and were matched for the patients with and without HBsAg seroclearance (1:4).
*mean±SD.
†median (IQR).
‡During antiviral therapy before HBsAg seroclearance.
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; INR, international normalised ratio.