Table 1. Baseline characteristics.
| Characteristic | N = 90 |
| Median age, (range) | 37 (18–62) |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | |
| Chinese | 58 (64) |
| Vietnamese | 19 (21) |
| Korean | 12 (13) |
| Cambodian | 1 (1) |
| Male sex, n (%) | 47 (52) |
| HBV DNA, log10 copies/mL, mean (SD) | 7.5 (1.8) |
| HBeAg-positive, n (%) | 52 (58)* |
| ALT, n (%)† | |
| >ULN | 67 (74) |
| ≤ULN | 23 (26) |
| Prior treatment history, n (%) | |
| Lamivudine | 3 (3) |
| Adefovir | 6 (7) |
| Interferon | 5 (6) |
| Genotype, n (%) | |
| B | 43 (48) |
| C | 47 (52) |
| FibroTest score, % | |
| F0 | 48 |
| F1–F2 | 46 |
| F3 | 2 |
| F4 | 4 |
*At baseline 52 patients were HBeAg-positive; one patient who was borderline at baseline was HBeAg positive at Week 48.
†
Normal range ALT: <34 U/L female; <43 U/L male.
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; HBeAg, hepatitis B ‘e’ antigen; HBV, hepatitis B virus; SD, standard deviation; ULN, upper limit of normal.