LIVER FIBROSIS RESPONSE TO ENTECAVIR TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH HBV-RELATED COMPENSATED CIRRHOSIS

Background: Evaluating improvement of liver fibrosis response after anti HBV therapy in our country until now is very limited, especially in patients with cirrhosis. This study aimed at assessing the respone in liver fibrosis determined by ARFI and its related factors for patients with compensated HBV-related cirrhosis undergoing entecavir therapy. Subjects and methods: 60 patients with compensated HBV-related cirrhosis were enrolled at Da Nang Hospital from 06/2016 to 06/2018. All received entecavir 0,5mg a day 2 hours after breakfast and followed in 18 months. Liver fibrosis is measured by Acoustic Radiation Forced Imaging (ARFI). Results: Entecavir treatment may result in improvement of liver fibrosis in 20% after 12 months and 26.67% after 18 months in patients with compensated hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis. The improvement in fibrosis levels was significant after at least 12 months of treatment. Factors associated with improvement of fibrosis response in this study included AST, ALT, AFP are high, HBeAg (+), low prothrombin time at baseline, and indetectable HBV DNA after 6 months of treatment. Conclusion: Entecavir treatment may help to improve liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B virus-related compensated cirrhosis, but long-term treatment is needed. Key words: Entecavir, HBV cirrhosis, liver fibrosis, ARFI