Current characteristics of chronic hepatitis B in Egypt

Abstract

Background and aim In the era of hepatitis C virus eradication, Egypt had to pay attention to the two million infected with chronic hepatitis B. This study aimed to observe the current characteristics of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Egypt. Patients and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 183 patients with chronic HBV infection. The demographic, epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were collected from patient registries. Results Positive hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg) cases represented 18.04%. They were younger (31.09±8.542–38.22±10.6 years) (PP8±16.49×108–1.74×106±10.1×106 IU/ml) (P2). Thirty (16.3%) cases were outside international guidelines of treatment, only for follow-up. Overall, 70.5% were subjected to lamidine therapy, with unfair responses mainly detected in the HBeAg-positive group (71.4%), who responded marvelously to interferon finite regimens. HBeAg-positive status and schistosomiasis were found to be associated with poor response to oral antivirals by multivariate analysis (PConclusion More classified governmental censorship efforts, notably on private organizations, along with awareness levitation are promptly mandated. Additionally, the poor response to oral antivirals in HBeAg-positive patients signifies sticking to interferon as a first-line treatment option.