A double-blind placebo-controlled study of emtricitabine in chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Emtricitabine is a nucleoside analogue approved for treatment of human immunodeficiency virus 1 with clinical activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Methods: To compare the safety and efficacy of emtricitabine with placebo in patients with HBV, we conducted a randomized (2:1), double-blind study at 34 sites in North America, Asia, and Europe that enrolled adults between November 2000 and July 2002 who had chronic HBV infection but had never been exposed to nucleoside or nucleotide treatment. Each patient received either 200 mg of emtricitabine (n=167) or placebo (n=81) once daily for 48 weeks and underwent a pretreatment and end-of-treatment liver biopsy.

Lamivudine in hepatitis B-associated membranous nephropathy.

Background: Although lamivudine is effective for treatment of chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection, its potential therapeutic impact on HBV-related membranous nephropathy (MN) in adults has not been characterized.

Methods: We treated 10 HBsAg-positive patients with biopsy-proven MN, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and HBV-DNAemia (group 1), and compared their clinical course with 12 patients diagnosed to have HBV infection, elevated serum ALT, and MN in the pre-lamivudine era (group 2).

Results: Baseline demographic and clinical parameters were not different between the 2 groups.

Clopidogrel versus aspirin and esomeprazole to prevent recurrent ulcer bleeding.

Background: Concurrent therapy with a proton-pump inhibitor is a standard treatment for patients receiving aspirin who are at risk for ulcer. Current U.S.

A cost comparison of management of chronic hepatitis B and its associated complications in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Goals: To estimate and compare the direct medical cost in the management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and its complications from the perspective of public health organizations in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Background: Hong Kong and Singapore are endemic hepatitis B virus areas with about 10% and 5%, respectively, of the population estimated as hepatitis B virus infected.

Study: The medical histories of 660 patients with CHB who received medical services over 5 years from three major public hospitals in Hong Kong and Singapore were studied retrospectively.

Screening for colorectal cancer in Chinese: comparison of fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy.

Background And Aims: Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS), and colonoscopy are the most commonly recommended screening tests for colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and safety of these 3 screening procedures in a general population of ethnic Chinese.

Methods: Asymptomatic adults older than 50 years were recruited from the general public through health exhibitions.