Effects of long-term antiviral therapy on survival rate of patients with hepatitis B virus-related decompensated liver cirrhosis

Abstract

Objective To explore the survival outcomes of patients with Child-Pugh class B and C HBV-related decompensated liver cirrhosis after long-term antiviral therapy. Methods A total of 386 patients with HBV-related decompensated liver cirrhosis in Bethune International Peace Hospital from January 1st 2005 to January 1st 2010 were enrolled. They were divided into different groups according to Child-Pugh score. The long-term survival status of patients was observed after antiviral therapy. Results Five-year survival rate in all HBV-related cirrhosis patients was 63.73% (246 cases) . Five-year survival rates in Child-Pugh class B group and Child-Pugh class C group were 73.05% and 56.62% with siginificant difference (χ2=12.723, P 0.05) . The differences on liver function index, prothrombin time activity and Child-Pugh score between Child-Pugh class B and C patients after 5-year antiviral therapy had no statistical significance (P all>0.05) . Conclusions The survival rates of patients with Child-Pugh class B and C HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis exceed 55.00% after long-term antiviral therapy. Patients with class B have better suvival outcomes than those with class C. Patients with severe Child-Pugh class can achieve similar effect as the mild ones after long-term antiviral therapy. Key words: Liver cirrhosis; Chronic hepatitis B; Decompensation; Antiviral therapy