Clinical characteristics and liver cirrhosis stages in patients with untreated chronic hepatitis b at thong nhat hospital

Abstract

Objective: Assessment clinical characteristics and liver fibrosis stages in chronic hepatitis B patients without specific treatment based on the combination of two non-invasive methods: APRI score and liver elasticity ultrasound using ARFI technique Materials and method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 242 patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B from January to April 2024 at the Department of Gastroenterology, Thong Nhat Hospital. Data were collected on age, gender, clinical symptoms, liver function tests, and liver elastography to assess fibrosis stages. Results: From January to April 2024, a total of 242 patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 53 ± 14.39 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 3:1. The majority of patients (58.7%) were asymptomatic. The prevalence of mild liver fibrosis (F0-F1) in the study population was 25.6%, significant fibrosis (F2) was 42.6%, advanced liver fibrosis (F3) was 14.5%, and cirrhosis (F4) was 17.3%. The prevalence of significant or severe liver fibrosis was 74.4%. Conclusions: In our study, a high proportion (74.4%) of untreated chronic hepatitis B patients had moderate or severe liver fibrosis. If we rely solely on an ALT level of twice the upper limit of normal to determine treatment, as recommended in previous guidelines, we may miss many cases of severe liver fibrosis that require treatment but have normal ALT levels. This highlights the value of non-invasive methods for assessing liver fibrosis in routine clinical practice for chronic hepatitis B patients.