The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinical and Laboratory Follow-up of Patients Diagnosed With Chronic Hepatitis B: A Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study

AuthorFethiye Akgulen
AuthorYusuf Arslanen
AuthorMehmet Celiken
AuthorOmer Karasahinen
AuthorMustafa Kemal Celenen
OrcidFethiye Akgul [0000-0001-8518-4598]en
OrcidYusuf Arslan [0000-0002-1479-6009]en
OrcidMehmet Celik [0000-0002-0583-929X]en
OrcidOmer Karasahin [0000-0002-4245-1534]en
Issued Date2022-12-31en
AbstractBackground: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who are under the treatment of antiviral agents should be monitored in routine control visits. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the visits were interrupted. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether these patients were affected regarding clinical, laboratory, and treatment outcomes. Methods: This prospective study consisted of CHB patients aged > 18 who were applied to 3 tertiary centers between 14 February and 30 March 2022. The patients were selected from the ones who regularly applied to outpatient clinics and under the treatment of antiviral agents before the pandemic. The demographic and laboratory values, including serologic, biochemistry, and molecular results, were compared between the 2 groups who came and did not come to control visits. Results: A total number of 220 patients were included. More than half (n = 142, 64.5%) were female. The median age was 44 years (19 - 73). A hundred and forty-two (64.5%) patients did not come to control visits during the pandemic. The most common reason was anxiety about COVID-19. The tenofovir treatment was replaced with entecavir (ETV) due to osteopenia and with alafenamide due to osteopenia and/or renal failure. The previous agents were re-started in 27 (79.5%) patients who discontinued the treatment. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the follow-up of CHB patients. In this regard, 15.5% of patients stopped their treatments. The patients who stopped their follow-ups and continued tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) had proteinuria and decreases in bone mineral density (BMD) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels.en
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5812/hepatmon-132174en
KeywordCOVID-19en
KeywordPandemicen
KeywordChronic Viral Hepatitis Ben
KeywordTenofovir Disoproxilen
KeywordBone Mineral Densityen
KeywordGlomerular Filtration Rateen
PublisherBrieflandsen
TitleThe Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinical and Laboratory Follow-up of Patients Diagnosed With Chronic Hepatitis B: A Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Studyen
TypeResearch Articleen

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