Liver pathology and clinical characteristics of chronic HBV infection: analysis of 1 397 cases

Objective To analyze the correlation between liver pathology and clinical characteristics in a large series of patients with chronic HBV infections, so as to provide the data base for non-invasive medical diagnosis. Methods Liver pathology and clinical characteristics of 1 397 patients with chronic HBV infections were retrospectively analyzed. Ridit analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were performed to investigate the correlations of clinical characteristics with liver pathology of patients. Results In 1 397 patients, there were 604 patients (43.24%) with liver inflammation grading ≥G2 and 504 patients (36.08%) with fibrosis stage ≥S2. Inflammation grade and fibrosis stage of liver tissues were both higher in male patients than those in females (u=3.093 and 2.854, P 30-40 years and >40 years (r=0.259 and 0.303, P 0.05), but there was significant difference in liver fibrosis in patients between aged >40 years and ≤30 years (F=3.177, P<0.05). Conclusions Liver biopsy and antiviral therapy should be considered in chronic HBV infected patients with age of >30 years, lightly elevated ALT levels, HBeAg(-) and detectable HBV DNA levels, especially in male patients. Screening for liver fibrosis should be considered in patients with HBeAg(-) and low HBV DNA levels. Key words: Hepatitis B virus; Pathology; Liver; Biopsy, needle; Clinical characteristics