Background/aim: Hepatic steatosis may influence the response to antivirals in chronic hepatitis B patients. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of entecavir and tenofovir in nucleos(t) ide-naive chronic hepatitis B patients with hepatosteatosis during 48 weeks of therapy.
Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed our data for chronic hepatitis B patients. Nucleos(t) ide-naive patients with hepatosteatosis who took entecavir or tenofovir for at least 48 weeks were included. We compared entecavir and tenofovir after 48 weeks of therapy with respect to virological, biochemical, and serological responses in patients with hepatosteatosis.
Results: Of the 63 patients, 21 received entecavir and 42 received tenofovir. Baseline characteristics of the patients were similar except for body mass index. At the end of week 48, there was no statistically significant difference between tenofovir and entecavir treatment regarding total HBV-DNA negativity and alanine transferase normalization in patients with chronic hepatitis B and hepatosteatosis.
Conclusions: Entecavir and tenofovir are similarly effective in nucleos(t)ide-naive chronic hepatitis B patients with hepatosteatosis after 48 weeks of therapy.