Clinical, serological and virological characteristics in RA patients who developed hepatitis B reactivation
| Characteristics | Patient 1 | Patient 2 | Patient 3 | Patient 4 | Patient 5 | Patient 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age/sex | 33/F | 28/F | 26/F | 39/F | 35/F | 54/F |
| Disease duration, years | 5.2 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 10.3 |
| HbsAg, baseline/reactivation | +/+ | +/+ | +/+ | +/+ | +/+ | −/+ |
| HBeAg, baseline/reactivation | −/− | −/− | −/+ | −/+ | −/− | −/+ |
| HBeAb, baseline/reactivation | +/ND | +/ND | +/ND | +/ND | +/ND | +/ND |
| HBsAb, baseline/reactivation | −/ND | −/ND | −/ND | −/ND | −/ND | −/ND |
| ALT at baseline, U/ml | 40 | 49 | 38 | 28 | 38 | 32 |
| ALT at reactivation, U/ml | 276 | 285 | 302 | 478 | 216 | 199 |
| Viral loads at baseline, IU/ml | 1.17E04 | 7.23E04 | 2.14E03 | 5.6E03 | 1.68E04 | 5.2E02 |
| Viral loads at reactivation, IU/ml | 5.46E05 | 1.94E07 | 4.89E08 | 8.38E07 | 3.42E07 | 2.78E05 |
| Antiviral prophylaxis | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Concomitant drugs | ||||||
| Corticosteroid, mg/day | 7.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Methotrexate, mg/week | 15.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 15.0 | 12.5 |
| TNFα inhibitors | Adalimumab | Adalimumab | Etanercept | Adalimumab | Etanercept | Etanercept |
| Time to HBV reactivation, months | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Treatment | Lamivudine | Lamivudine | Lamivudine | Lamivudine | Lamivudine | Lamivudine |
| Outcome | Alive | Alive | Alive | Alive | Alive | Alive |
F, female; HBeAb, antibody against hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope antigen; HBeAg, HBV envelope antigen; HBsAb, antibody against HBV surface antigen; HBsAg, HBV surface antigen; ND, not done; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; TNFα, tumour necrosis factor alpha.