Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice

Tenofovir in treatment of Iranian patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection: An open‑label case series

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Behrooz Ataei 1
. Mahsa Khodadoostan 2
. Babk Pouria 3
. Peyman Adibi 2

1 Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

3 Department of Internal Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract
Objective: Tenofovir is among the first‑line treatments for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) 
virus infection. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of Tenofovir in treatment of Iranian 
patients with CHB.
Methods: Forty treatment‑native patients with CHB but without concurrent hepatitis C or 
human immunodeficiency virus infections were treated with Tenobiovir(™) 300 mg/day. 
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA load, hepatitis B e antigen (HBe Ag), anti‑hepatitis B 
e antibody (HBe Ab), liver enzymes, and creatinine were measured before and at least 
3 months after the treatment.
Findings: The mean age of patients was 38.1 ± 12.4 years and 65% of them were 
male. Seventeen (42.5%) patients were HBe Ag‑positive and 15 (37.5%) patients had 
alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of two times above the normal. The HBV DNA load was 
significantly decreased after the treatment(P < 0.001). Twenty‑seven (67.5%) patients 
had viral load of ≤2000 IU/ml and 22 (55%) patients had undetectable HBV DNA level 
after the treatment. Among positive HBe Ag patients, the HBe Ag became negative in 
15 (88.2%) patients after the treatment and HBe Ab became positive in 3 (17.6%) 
patients. Liver enzymes’ levels were significantly decreased after the treatment(P <0.05) 
and ALT transaminase level became normalized in 86.7% (13 out of 15) of cases with 
baseline levels twice the normal.
Conclusion: Treatment response rate to Tenofovir in Iranian patients with CHB was high. 
The virological and serological response rate and safety of Tenofovir in our population 
was comparable to other populations. Considering availability and costs, Tenobiovir(™)
could be recommended as the first‑line therapy of chronic HBV infection in Iran.

Keywords

Chronic hepatitis B
Tenofovir
therapy
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Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice
Volume 5, Issue 3
Summer 2016
Pages 166-170

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