Add-on pegylated interferon augments hepatitis B surface antigen clearance vs continuous nucleos(t)ide analog monotherapy in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis B surface antigen ≤ 1500 IU/mL: An observational study

Table 1 Demographic and baseline characteristics of the study population

Characteristics	Add-on, n = 91	Monotherapy, n = 104	P value
Male (%)	62 (68.1)	76 (73.1)	0.528
Age in yr, mean ± SD	38.11 ± 9.74	37.34 ± 11.01	0.529
BMI in kg/cm2, mean ± SD	21.97 ± 1.72	22.13 ± 1.05	0.157
Mode of transmission
Vertical (%)	36 (39.6)	32 (30.8)	0.229
Others (%)	55 (60.4)	72 (69.2)
HBsAg at week 0
< 500 IU/mL (%)	56 (61.5)	49 (47.1)	0.089
500-1000 IU/mL (%)	17 (18.7)	32 (30.8)
1000-1500 IU/mL (%)	18 (19.8)	23 (22.1)
HBeAg status at enrollment
Negative (%)	91 (100)	104 (100)	_
HBV DNA at enrollment
< 1.0 × 102 IU/ mL (%)	91 (100.0)	104 (100.0)	_
ALT, IU/L, median (range)	24 (8.0-73)	27 (7-66)	0.558
AST, IU/L, median (range)	23 (12-70)	26 (14-66)	0.212
NA
ADV (%)	10 (11.0)	12 (11.5)	0.395
ETV (%)	50 (54.9)	66 (63.5)
TDF (%)	31 (34.1)	26 (25.0)
FibroScan value, kPa
mean ± SD	4.2 ± 1.1	4.5 ± 1.2	0.824

SD: Standard deviation; BMI: Body mass index; HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen; HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen; HBV DNA: Hepatitis B virus-deoxyribonucleic acid; NA: Nucleos(t)ide analog; ADV: Adefovir dipivoxil; ETV: Entecavir; TDF: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate transaminase.