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Among the oral monotherapy agents available for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, entecavir was shown to have one of the best therapeutic and resistance profiles (JW Gastroenterol Feb 8 2008). However, the efficacy and safety of entecavir in treatment-naive HBV patients with decompensated cirrhosis have not been established.
To evaluate the use of entecavir in this setting, investigators in Korea conducted a prospective study to compare outcomes between 55 HBV patients with decompensated cirrhosis (defined as Child-Pugh score ≥7 or presence of portal hypertension-related complications) and 144 HBV patients with compensated cirrhosis. All patients received 0.5 mg of entecavir daily and were evaluated every 3 to 6 months during follow-up.
As e…