Continuous Long-Term Entecavir Therapy in Naive Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Showing Partial Virologic Response

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We investigated the efficacy of continuous long-term entecavir 0.5 mg treatment in naive chronic hepatitis B patients showing a partial virologic response (PVR). METHODS: A total of 227 patients were included. PVR was defined as a more than 1 log10 IU/mL decline in detectable serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR; > or =20 IU/mL) at week 48. A complete virologic response (CVR) was defined as undetectable serum HBV DNA by PCR (<20 IU/mL) at week 48. RESULTS: At week 48, the rate of the PVR was 64/227 (28.2%). Among patients with PVR, the cumulative rates of virologic response (serum HBV DNA <20 IU/mL) at weeks 96 and 144 were 45.2% and 73.8%, respectively. The cumulative rates of genotypic resistance were not significantly different between patients with a PVR and patients with a CVR (p=0.057). However, the cumulative rates of virologic breakthrough were higher in patients with PVR than in patients with CVR (4% vs 0% and 11.2% vs 0% at weeks 96 and 144, respectively; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term continuous entecavir 0.5 mg treatment in patients with a PVR resulted in an additional virologic response without a significant increase in genotypic resistance. However, the rate of virologic breakthrough was higher in the partial responders.

A Case of Parasite Invasion of the Intestinal Tract: A Missed Diagnosis in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by chronic abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of any organic cause. As the clinical manifestations are very diverse and associated with nonspecific symptoms, research seeking to identify organic causes to rule out IBS and to enable differential diagnosis is required. A 24-year-old man was referred to our hospital for specialized management of IBS. He had a 7-month history of intermittent epigastric and lower abdominal pain. On the basis of clinical examination, he was diagnosed with IBS and administered medication at a primary clinic. However, his symptoms did not improve after treatment. We performed capsule endoscopy at our hospital and identified a parasite (Ancylostoma duodenale) in the proximal jejunum. We therefore report a case of parasitic infection found by additional examination while evaluating symptoms associated with a previous diagnosis of refractory IBS.