Introduction:

The effectiveness of the national immunization program has impacted on the reduction of the incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Cuba; however, the number of chronically infected patients is not negligible. These patients are diagnosed in the clinical practice, although the epidemiological studies that indicate the presence of the disease are insufficient.

Objective:

To describe the main clinical, biomolecular and immunological characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection treated at the National Institute of Gastroenterology, Havana, Cuba.

Materials and methods:

A total of 97 patients who had at least a 6-month history of chronic HBV infection were recruited at the above mentioned institution from January 2016 to January 2018. Descriptive statistical analyzes were performed to identify the clinical characteristics. Biochemical and virological studies, analysis of both liver stiffness values measured by transient elastography and use of antiviral therapy were also carried out.

Results:

All patients completed the follow-up. It was observed that 61,9 % of them were male and the median (range) age was 46 (18-84) years. The mean time since the diagnosis of the infection was 11.7 ± 8,9 years. Inactive disease without liver fibrosis or light fibrosis was present in 61,9 %. Only 2 % were negative for hepatitis B surface antigen with quantitative analysis of HBV DNA; also, 81,4 % of patients had detectable viral load and 85,5 % received one or more antiviral treatments, mainly nucleotide analogues.

Conclusions:

The patients with chronic HBV infection studied are mostly in the inactive phase of their disease, without significant evidence of liver damage and detectable levels of viremia. All of them have received some antiviral treatment.

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