Nonadherence to Hepatitis B Medicines Increases Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Cirrhosis and Mortality
Recent scientific data revealed that the nonadherence to hepatitis B medicines increases the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis followed by mortality. Neung Hwa Park, MD, PhD, from the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in the Republic of Korea said, “Adherence appears to be a key factor in minimizing [liver-related events (LRE); Considering that poor adherence increased the risk of LREs in this study, identifying an effective medical strategy to improve adherence to medication may substantially improve clinical outcomes.” The observational study was conducted among 894 chronic HBV patients who were given Baraclude (entecavir, Bristol-Myers Squibb) treatment for 10 years. After 10 years, only 296 patients had complete adherence; 617 patients had adherence rates lower or equal to 90%; 183 patients had between 70% to 90% adherence rates and 94 patients had adherence rate lower than 70%. The results also showed that people younger 30 years and ol...