The Predictive Value of Baseline HBs Ag Level and Early Response for HBs Ag Loss in Patients with HBe Ag-positive Chronic Hepatitis B during Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2a Treatment

Objective To explore the predictive value of baseline HBsAg level and early response for HBsAg loss in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B during pegylated interferon alpha-2a treatment. Methods A total of 121 patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B who achieved HBsAg loss were enrolled; all patients were treated with PEG-IFNα-2a 180 μg/week. Serum HBV DNA and serological indicators(HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, and anti-HBe) were determined before and every 3 months during treatment. Results The median treatment time for HBsAg loss was 84 weeks(7-273 weeks), and 74.38%(90 cases) of the patients needed extended treatment(> 48 weeks). The correlation between baseline HBsAg levels and the treatment time of HBsAg loss was significant(B = 14.465, t = 2.342, P = 0.021). Baseline HBsAg levels together with the decline range of HBsAg at 24 weeks significantly correlated with the treatment time of HBsAg loss(B = 29.862, t = 4.890, P = 0.000 and B = 27.993, t = 27.993, P = 0.005). Conclusion Baseline HBsAg levels and extended therapy are critical steps toward HBsAg loss. Baseline HBsAg levels together with early response determined the treatment time of HBsAg loss in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B during pegylated interferon alpha-2a treatment.

A Retrospective Study of Culture-confirmed Mycobacterial Infection among Hospitalized HIV-infected Patients in Beijing, China

A retrospective analysis was performed in two major HIV/AIDS referral hospitals in Beijing to evaluate the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial(NTM) infections in HIV-infected patients. A total of 627 patients' data were reviewed, and 102(16.3%) patients were diagnosed with culture-confirmed mycobacterial infection, including 84 with MTB, 16 with NTM, and 2 with both MTB and NTM. The most frequent clinical complication by mycobacterial infection was pulmonary infection(48/102, 47.1%). The overall rates of multidrug-resistant TB(MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB(XDR-TB) were 11.9% and 3.4%, respectively. This study underlines the urgent need to intensify screening for mycobacteria coinfection with HIV and to prevent the spread of drug-resistant TB among HIV-infected patients.