Treating chronic hepatitis B virus: Chinese physicians’ awareness of the 2010 guidelines

AIM: To investigate Chinese physicians’ awareness of the 2010 guidelines on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODS: This was a quantitative survey that investigated the characteristics and practices of physicians who were treating patients with hepatitis B, the profile of their patients and physician practices regarding the diagnosis and treatment of HBV at the time of the survey. Participants were randomly selected from available databases of Chinese physicians and requested to complete either an online or paper-based survey. Data from the survey responses were analysed. For data validation and interpretation, qualitative indepth interviews were conducted with 39 of the respondents. RESULTS: Five-hundred completed surveys, from 663 physicians were available for analysis. A mean of 175 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients was seen by each physician every month, of whom 85 (49%) were treated in line with therapeutic indications stated in the 2010 guidelines. A total of 444 (89%) physicians often (> 60% of the time) adhered to the guidelines. Most physicians used antiviral medications as recommended. For patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, 342 (68%) and 336 (67%) of physicians, respectively, often followed the recommendation to use potent nucleos(t)ide analogues with a high genetic barrier to resistance, using the appropriate treatment more than 60% of the time. Physicians from infectious disease or liver disease departments were better informed than those from gastrointestinal or other departments. CONCLUSION: The majority of Chinese physicians often adhere to Chinese 2010 CHB guidelines and are well-informed about the use of antiviral medications for hepatitis B.