Unchanging prevalence of late presentation to care among patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background And Study Aims: A recent consensus defines a delay in hepatitis B (HBV) diagnosis as presentation with late (hepatocellular carcinoma or decompensated cirrhosis) or advanced (fibrosis ≥ 3) stage disease. We aimed to determine the prevalence of late and advanced stage presentation among chronic HBV (CHB) patients and to determine factors associated with late and advanced stage presentation.

Methods: Consecutive CHB patients seen from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2018 were included and analyzed on January 2019.