Tenofovir Response Rate and Adverse Effects in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Attending to Hepatitis Clinic at Labbafinejad Hospital

Tenofovir is one of the therapeutics approved by FDA for treatment of hepatitis B. However, the efficacy of this drug in Iranian patients has not been assessed.

Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of tenofovir on DNA and HBe antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

In this interventional open label trial study, 145 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B attending the Hepatitis Clinic at Labbafinejad hospital in Tehran, Iran during years 2016 and 2017, who received tenofovir 300 mg daily, were enrolled with goal-oriented sampling. Data, including age, gender, viral load (DNA), HBe antigen, duration of disease, HBV vaccination history, family history of hepatitis, liver biopsy, risk factors (blood transfusion, having tatoo, history of phlebotomy, having major surjury, being an employee or inmate of prison, unsafe sexual contact, sharing needles and drug injection equipment, havig direct contact with blood of an infected person, being a hemodialysis patients, health care workers and others exposed to blood products and needle stick devices, and donor of blood and organs), diagnosis-duration interval, and adverse effects (renal, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, and neurological) were collected by census in 51 patients, who were followed-up to one year using an interview and lab results and the data were recorded and compared.

Mean viral load before and after treatment was 31643426.761 ± 1553051.267 IU and 128.08 ± 434.12 IU, respectively with a significant difference (P = 0.001). The HBe antigen was positive in 7.8% and 2% before and after treatment, respectively, without a significant difference (P = 0.078). No adverse effects were seen.

In total, according to the obtained results, it may be concluded that there is good effect for tenofovir on DNA yet not the HBe antigen in patients with chronic hepatitis B. No adverse effects were seen.