Clinical efficacy of low-dose prednisone in treatment of chronic severe Hepatitis B

Aim:To study the clinical efficacy of low-dose prednisone in treatment of chronic severe Hepatitis B.Methods:The enrolled patients accepting low-dose prednisone treatment were allocated into two groups.Patients in the control group received protecting liver,antiviral therapy,and other symptomatic supportive treatment as well as the placebos.Patients in the treatment group received prednisone 20 mg on the basis of control group,then reduce the dose by 5 mg every two weeks,until be stopped.The changes of clinical symptoms of the 2 groups were observed.Before and at the second,fourth,sixth,and eighth week after the therapy,the aminotransferase(ALT),the serum total bilirubin(TBil),and the prothrombin activities(PTA) were recorded.Results:After the treatment,compared with the control group,TBil(Fgroup=52.743,Ftime=1 110.318,P0.001) and ALT(Fgroup=26.898,Ftime=927.736,P0.001) descended significantly,the clinical symptoms improved,and the normalization rate of ALT increased in the treatment group(χ2=15.000,P0.001).But it was not helpful to change the HBV-DNA and PTA level(P0.05).Conclusion:Low-dose prednisone is safe and economical,and has a remarkable effect on improving the clinical symptoms of the chronic severe hepatitis B patients with early symptoms,decreasing the level of serum TBil and recovery of ALT,but could not significantly improve patients' blood clotting.