Retrospective study on clinical characteristics of 373 patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B(CHB)and provide evidence for the prevention and treatment protocols.Methods Retrospective study was carried out on 732 cases of CHB and hepatitis B cirrhosis(HBC).Patients were divided into HBeAg-negative group and HBeAg-positive group based on HBeAg status.Age,duration of disease and virological features were compared between the 2 groups.Results 373 patients(51%)were HBeAg negative and 359(49%)were HBeAg positive.The mean age in HBeAg-negative group was(50.2±12.8)years,older than that in HBeAg-positive group which the mean age was(38.8±13.1)years(P0.05).Duration of HBsAg positive in HBeAg-negative group was 12.0 years,longer than that in HBeAg-positive group 6.0 years(P0.05).The median serum HBV DNA level in HBeAg-negative group was 1.01×104(103,4.9×108)copies/ml,lower than that in HBeAg-positive group[1.30×106(103,7.11×109)copies/ml](P0.05).The median serum HBsAg levels were 3685U/ml in HBeAg-negative group and 3530U/ml in HBeAg-positive group,and the difference between them was not significant(P0.05).About 17.4% of HBeAg-negative patients developed primary liver cancer,and the proportion was higher than that of HBeAg-positive patients(6.69%)(P0.05).Conclusion HBeAgnegative patients account for considerable proportion in the patients with CHB and HBV-related cirrhosis.They are much older,and have longer duration of disease,lower serum HBV DNA level,and more commonly develop into primary liver cancer.