Chronic hepatitis B virus monoinfection at a university hospital in Zambia

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of treatment-naïve hepatitis B monoinfected adults referred to a university hospital in Zambia according to setting of hepatitis B virus diagnosis

	Clinical diagnosis (n = 31)	Routine diagnosis (n = 89)	P value
Median age, in years	37 (29-42)	33 (26-41)	0.15
Male sex	22 (71.0)	63 (70.8)	0.99
Education level completed
None to 6th grade	5 (16.1)	3 (3.4)	0.05a
7th to 12th grade	14 (45.2)	49 (55.1)
College	12 (38.7)	37 (41.6)
Lifetime alcohol abstinence	13 (41.9)	36 (40.9)	0.92
Herbal medicine use, past month	7 (31.8)	14 (16.3)	0.10
Body mass index
< 25	23 (76.7)	56 (62.9)	0.35
25-30	5 (16.7)	20 (22.5)
> 30	2 (6.7)	13 (14.6)
HBV DNA level, IU/mL
< 20	4 (15.4)	21 (24.7)	0.12
20-1999	10 (38.5)	42 (49.4)
2000-19199	4 (15.4)	12 (14.1)
≥ 20000	8 (30.8)	10 (11.8)
HBeAg positive	11 (37.9)	11 (14.5)	0.0081
Median ALT, in U/L (IQR)	22 (17-28)	23 (17-36)	0.82
Elevated ALT	8 (32.0)	36 (43.4)	0.31
AST-to-platelet ratio index ≥ 2.0	4 (21.1)	0	0.0021
Liver stiffness measurement in kPa
< 7.9	4 (25.0)	45 (84.9)	< 0.0011
7.9-9.5	2 (12.5)	4 (7.6)
> 9.5	10 (62.5)	4 (7.6)

¹Data with statistical significance. HBV: Hepatitis B virus; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase. All values are n (%) or median (IQR).

Table 2 Hepatitis B virus stage and eligibility for immediate antiviral therapy among treatment-naïve Zambian adults with chronic hepatitis B virus infection n (%)

		Overall (n = 120)	Clinical diagnosis (n = 31)	Routine diagnosis1 (n = 89)	P2
HBV stage	Immune tolerant	3 (2.5)	2 (6.4)	1 (1.1)	0.16
	Immune active	14 (11.7)	4 (12.9)	10 (11.2)	0.8
	Inactive carrier	47 (35.6)	7 (20.0)	40 (41.2)	0.023
	Indeterminate	56 (46.7)	18 (58.1)	38 (42.7)	0.14
Eligibility for immediate therapy per guidelines	WHO 2015 guidelines	13 (10.8)	9 (29.0)	4 (4.5)	< 0.013
	EASL 2017 guidelines	21 (17.5)	12 (38.7)	9 (10.1)	< 0.013

¹Routine diagnosis was defined as being tested for hepatitis B surface antigen at the blood bank, antenatal care, a community screening event, or as part of a routine medical check-up;

²A χ² test was used to compare clinically and routinely HBV-diagnosed participants;

³Data with statistical significance. HBV: Hepatitis B virus; WHO: World Health Organization; EASL: European Association for Study of the Liver.