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Most clinic attenders with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are serum HBeAg‐negative, and a minority will require suppressive antiviral treatment. Expert guidelines propose schedules for the monitoring of untreated patients, but the recommended frequency of patient review does not reflect recognised demographic determinants of HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis. Also, the impact of patient ethnicity on risk has not been defined. The aim of our study was to determine the rates and determinants of antiviral treatment initiation in a large multi‐ethnic cohort of CHB patients attending a single centre. We undertook a retrospective study using entirely electronic sources of patient information. Treatment initiation dates were identified from electronic pharmacy records. Crude and time‐dependent statistical analyses were undertaken to identify rate and risk factors for treatment initiation. Treatment was initiated for 232/1256 (18.5%) patients with rates of 23.2% and 33.2% at 5 and 10 years. An increased risk of treatment was associated with male sex (RR 1.803), older age at presentation (RR 1.027 per year increase) and with non‐Black ethnicity (RR 1.654). Patient sex, baseline age and ethnicity also determined risk for treatment in the subset of patients with normal serum ALT and low HBV DNA at baseline, though overall treatment rate in this group was low (only 2% per annum). Thus, patient demographics permit risk stratification for treatment initiation and could determine to a significant extent the frequency of review required for untreated HBeAg‐negative patients. Black ethnicity is associated with a significant reduction in risk of treatment initiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most recent FibroScan value was 5.3 kPa (median), though 108 patients had values greater than 6, and 8 patients had values greater than 12. 135 (16.5%) patients were taking or had taken antiviral treatment before loss to follow-up. Keywords: compliance/adherence; hepatitis B; liver; viral hepatitis EN compliance/adherence hepatitis B liver viral hepatitis 223 227 5 02/17/23 20230301 NES 230301 INTRODUCTION There is emerging evidence about rates and determinants of linkage to care for HBV-diagnosed patients.[1] However, to date, little attention has been paid to the important issue of CHB (chronic hepatitis B) patient retention in the outpatient setting.[2] In western centres, most CHB patients are first-generation migrants from countries of high HBV prevalence. The patient NHS records include the patient's current registered address (i.e., on date of data capture 13/7/2022), and we calculated the distance of patient's residence from the QEH Liver Clinic. [Extracted from the article]