Background and objectives: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) therapy is a therapeutic option for nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)-experienced chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of TDF alone compared with the efficacy of TDF plus additional NA combinations in NA-experienced CHB patients.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 108 patients with a serum HBV DNA level above 5.0 log10 IU/ml who were treated with TDF alone (monotherapy group) or TDF combined with additional NAs (combination therapy group) for 30 months.
Results: At month 30, both therapies resulted in the suppression of HBV DNA levels: 66 of 66 patients (100 %) in the monotherapy group and 40 of 42 patients (95.23 %) in the combination therapy group achieved virologic suppression. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed median times for virologic suppression of 3.12 months in the monotherapy group and 5.23 months in the combination therapy group (p = 0.699). The probability of virologic suppression was comparable between treatment groups. At month 6, more patients achieved normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in the monotherapy group (p = 0.029). During the treatment period, no patients experienced severe renal dysfunction.
Conclusion: TDF monotherapy and TDF plus additional NAs have comparable antiviral efficacy in CHB patients after NA treatment failure.