ABSTRACT

Pattern of Liver Fibrosis among Individuals with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria
Abubakar S. Maiyaki, Nasiru A. Dankiri
Background: Chronic Hepatitis B (HBV) infection remains a global and significant public health challenge. It is estimated that about two billion people have been infected, 257 million of whom have current evidence of chronic infection. HBV is a major cause of morbidity and mortality due to its complications of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. Depending on the stages of the disease, active liver inflammation and damage, advanced fibrosis can progress quickly, slowly, or intermittently. Objective: To determine the pattern of fibrosis in patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection. Method: This was a retrospective study carried out at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto, Nigeria from June 2021 to May 2023. Thirty-one patients that had liver biopsy due to chronic Hepatitis B infection (CHBV) were retrieved. A proforma was used to collect information. Data was extracted and imputed into a computer and analyzed with IBM's Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 25. Results: The mean age of study subjects was 33.52±8.64. Twenty-eight (90.3%) had clinical indication of elevated viral load as against 2(9.7%) with elevated ALT as indication for liver biopsy. Non-significant fibrosis F0 and F1 were seen in 25.8% each while significant fibrosis F2 and F3 were seen in 22.6% and 19.4% respectively, however, 6.5% had cirrhosis. There was no significant relationship in the level of fibrosis to age and gender with p-value of 0.076 and 0.566 respectively. Conclusion: Chronic HBV infection is a cause of liver injury and fibrosis. The study portraits the fact that liver biopsy can still be used as a tool to demonstrate evidence of fibrosis especially when transient elastography is not readily available. This can aid early initiation of treatment especially in resource poor setting where advance technology is limited.
10.51658/ABMS.202452.8
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