Comparative study on the clinical efficacy of entecavir and telbivudine for chronic hepatitis B

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of entecavir and telbivudine for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods One hundred 100 CHB patients were randomly divided into two groups with 50 subjects in each group. The entecavir treatment group was treated with entecavir dispersible tablet and the telbivudine treatment group was treated with telbivudine tablet. The clinical index were compared for the undectable rate of HBV DNA, the proportion of HBV DNA decreased, the recovery rate of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), the disappearance rate of HBeAg, the conversion rate of HBeAg/HBeAb, Child-Pugh score changes and adverse reactions were compared at 12, 24 and 108 weeks. Results The undectable rates of HBV DNA at 24 and 108 weeks showed significant difference comparing to the data in 12 weeks in the two groups (P<0.05). The proportions of HBV DNA decreased in the two groups in 108 week also showed significant difference comparing to the data in 12 weeks (P<0.05). At 12 weeks, the disappearance rate of HBeAg and the conversion rate of HBeAg/HBeAb showed significant differences between Entecavir and Telbivudine treatment groups (P<0.05). For Child-Pugh score, after 108 weeks of treatment, the number o grade A subjects in telbivudine treatment group were higher than that of the Entecavir treatment group (P<0.05). Conclusions Both entecavir and telbivudine have strong inhabitation effects on HBV-DNA and can stop the virus replications effectively. Telbivudine shows the advantage of more early increasing in the conversion rate of HBeAg/HBeAb and improvement in the Child-Pugh score. Therefore, telbivudine is recommended in the treatment of CHB. Key words: Chronic hepatitis B; Entecavir; Telbivudine; Child-Pugh score