Characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B infection in China: A retrospective claims database study

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Public Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) poses a significant public health challenge in China, affecting approximately 90 million individuals.
• There are unmet clinical needs in managing CHB, necessitating an evaluation of current patient demographics, disease progression, and treatment patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the demographics, clinical characteristics, disease progression, and treatment management of patients with CHB in China.
• To assess healthcare costs and utilization associated with CHB, considering factors like cirrhosis and hospital tier.
• To determine the proportion of CHB patients receiving appropriate antiviral therapy.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, observational study using anonymized national administrative claims data from the China Health Insurance Research Association (2016).
• Patient identification via ICD-10 codes (B18.0, B18.1) and keyword searches for CHB/HBV and treatments (nucleos(t)ide analogues).
• Analysis of demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment prescription rates, healthcare costs, and utilization stratified by cirrhosis presence and hospital tier.

Main Results:

• The majority of CHB patients were male, aged 25-65, from East China, with employee health insurance.
• Cirrhosis was prevalent (16.20%), associated with male sex, older age, HCV coinfection, and increased healthcare utilization and costs.
• Only two-thirds of patients were prescribed antiviral therapy, predominantly nucleos(t)ide analogues, with Tier III hospitals seeing more complex cases.

Conclusions:

• A substantial proportion of CHB patients in China, particularly those with cirrhosis, face significant healthcare demands and costs.
• There is a critical need to improve access to and utilization of evidence-based antiviral treatments for CHB in China.
• Healthcare resource allocation and patient management strategies require optimization to address the unmet needs in CHB care.