Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the short-term efficacy of tenofovir and interferon-α2b (IFN-α2b) combination in the treatment of patients with serum HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods 89 patients with CHB and positive serum HBeAg were admitted to our hospital between January 2017 and August 2018, and were randomly divided into control group (n=43) and observation group (n=46). The patients in the control group were treated with tenofovir, and those in the observation were treated with IFN-α2b subcutaneously on the basis of tenofovir. The regimen lasted continuously for 48 weeks, and all patients were followed-up for 6 months. Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-10 levels were detected by ELISA, and serum hepatitis B viral deoxyribonucleotide (HBV DNA) was assayed by PCR. Results At the end of 48 week observation, serum ALT and AST levels in the combination group were (39.2±10.8)U/L and(36.4±8.2)U/L, significantly lower than 【(75.2±15.7)U/L and (56.6±12.3)U/L, respectively, P<0.05】 in the control; serum TNF-α level was (26.6±6.8)mg/L, much lower than 【(35.5±6.8)mg/L, P<0.05】, serum IL-6 level was (15.5±3.3)pg/mL, significantly lower than 【(22.4±4.1)pg/mL, P<0.05】, and serum IL-10 level was (21.4±5.7) pg/mL, significantly lower than 【(29.4±6.5)pg/mL, P<0.05】 in the control; serum HBV DNA loads in all patients in the two groups lost, and there was no significant difference as respect to serum ALT normalization in the two groups (P>0.05), while serum HBeAg and HBsAg negativity rates in the combination group were much higher than in the control (44.2% vs. 11.6%, and 13.0% vs. 0.0%, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusion Tenofovir combined with IFN-α2b in the treatment of serum HBeAg-positive CHB patients might improve serum HBeAg and HBsAg negativity, which could be related to the inhibition of cytokine reaction, but the long-term efficacy needs investigation further.

Key words: Hepatitis B, Tenofovir, Interferon-α, Therapy, Response