Patients with chronic hepatitis B virus
infection with a liver stiffness value of 8 kPa or greater were at an
increased risk for experiencing a liver-related event after achieving
virologic response with antiviral therapy, according to new research.
Researchers conducted a prospective study with
192 patients (median age; 49 years; 69.8% men) with chronic hepatitis B
virus (HBV) to determine any predictive roles of liver stiffness
(LS) in liver-related events (LRE) among patients who achieved complete
virological response (CVR) using antiviral therapy. All patients
achieved CVR through entecavir therapy during a median period of 11.7 months, and median LS value at CVR was 8.8 kPa.
During follow-up (median, 43 months), 25
patients experienced at least one LRE with an annual incidence of 44
people per 1,000 person-years (95% CI, 27.2-60.90). LRE included: hepatocellular carcinoma (n=15), ascites (n=3), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (n=2), hepatic encephalopathy (n=2), variceal bleeding
(n=2) and liver transplantation (n=1). LS values were higher among
patients who developed an LRE (16 kPa) during follow-up compared with
those who did not (8.3 kPa; P<.001).
Labels: disease progression, liver stiffness