Objective: Viral hepatitis B is a worldwide public health problem; in China, chronic hepatitis B patients account for 30-40 million people and chronic hepatitis C accounts for 16% of all chronic hepatitis patients. Interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) is rather expensive and has many serious side-effects, which makes practitioners prudent in its use.
Method/results: A multicenter study held in China showed that the negative seroconversion of HBV DNA by oxymatrine and IFNalpha-1b was 42.3% and 40.7%, respectively, and that of HBeAg was 36.5% and 38.9%, respectively, after 3 months treatment with each in patients with chronic hepatitis.
Conclusions: Oxymatrine has a similar efficacy to IFNalpha, but with no adverse effects apart from slight injection pain, and it is much less expensive.