Hepatitis B surface antigen clearance in inactive hepatitis B surface antigen carriers treated with peginterferon alfa-2a

Table 1 Baseline characteristics and outcomes at the end of treatment and follow-up

Characteristic	Treatment group	Control group	P-value
No.	20	40
Mean age at entry in year ± SD	33.80 ± 11.45	33.85 ± 8.37	0.985
Age > 40 yr, n (%)	4 (20.0)	11 (27.5)	0.527
Men:women, n	15:5	30:10	1.000
Mean baseline ALT (U/L) ± SD	23.46 ± 8.78	21.24 ± 10.26	0.874
HBsAg level (IU/mL)
Mean ± SD	26.22 ± 33.00	25.72 ± 5.58	0.949
Median (Q1, Q3)	11.36 (3.52-37.40)	15.81 (4.59-40.15)	0.714
95%CI of patients with 10-100 IU/mL, n (%)	(10.77, 41.75), 10 (50.0)	(17.54, 33.90), 22 (55.0)
Patients with < 10 IU/mL, n (%)	10 (50.0)	18 (45.0)
Mean decline in HBsAg level at EOT (IU/mL) ± SD	22.33 ± 29.45	5.76 ± 17.67	0.009
Median HBsAg level at EOT (IU/mL)	0.04 (0.02, 0.55)	13.21 (2.97, 30.31)	0.003
(Q1, Q3)	95%CI: (-0.68, 8.53)	95%CI: (12.8, 27.12)
Mean decline in HBsAg level at EOF (IU/mL) ± SD	23.36 ± 29.47	8.61 ± 19.32	0.023
Median HBsAg level at EOF (IU/mL)	0.045 (0.02, 2.44)	5.69 (1.50, 20.88)	0.007
(Q1, Q3)	95%CI: (-1.63, 7.43)	95%CI: (10.20, 24.03)
HBsAg loss, n (%)	13 (65.0)	0 (0)	0.000
HBsAg seroconversion, n (%)	12 (60.0)	0 (0)	0.000
HBV DNA reactivation, n (%)	0 (0)	2 (5.0)	0.309

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; EOF: End of follow-up; EOT: End of treatment; HBsAg: Hepatitis B surface antigen; HBV: Hepatitis B virus.