Table 1. Demographic, clinical and laboratory features of 27 patients with chronic hepatitis B HBeAg negative and viral load below 2,000 IU/mL.
| Mean ± standard deviation (minimum and maximum) | No. of patients/total% | |
| Age (years) | 36.4 ± 9.2 (22-59) | |
| Gender, male | 13/27 (48.1%) | |
| Ethanola | 15/27 (55.5%) | |
| Total Bilirubin (n=26) | 0.84 ± 0.99 (0.5-5.5) | |
| Direct Bilirubin (n=24) | 0.25 ± 0.78 (0.05-3.9) | |
| AST* (U/mL) Female Male | 24.6 ± 5.9 (17-39) 37.5 ± 11.0 (22-60) | |
| ALT#(U/mL) Female Male | 44.2 ± 9.2 (37-73) 54.4 ± 13.6 (39-77) | |
| AST greater than ULN† Female Male | 0/14 4/13 (30.8%) | |
| ALT > ULN Female Male | 0/14 3/13 (23.1%) | |
| Viral Load (IU/mL) | 572.1 ± 608.7 (26-1,960) |
a
Consumption of ethanol less than 40g/day for men and 20g/day for women; ULN - upper limit of normality. * The mean difference in AST for men and women was statistically significant (p < 0.01); # The mean difference in ALT for men and women was statistically significant (p = 0.03); † The difference in proportions of men and women that presented AST values above the normal limit was statistically significant (p = 0.02).