Antiviral efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil versus lamivudine in patients with chronic hepatitis B sequentially treated with lamivudine and adefovir due to lamivudine resistance

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of 44 patients with chronic hepatitis B sequentially treated with lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil

	Lamivudine	Adefovir	P
ALT level (IU/L)	310 ± 251	336 ± 379	NS
Total bilirubin level (mg/dL)	1.7 ± 2.1	1.5 ± 1.0	NS
Albumin level (g/dL)	3.8 ± 0.6	3.9 ± 0.7	NS
Positive for HBeAg [Nos. (%)]	39 (88.6)	33 (75.0)	NS
HBV DNA level (log copies/mL)1	7.64 ± 0.77	7.36 ± 1.16	NS

Values are expressed as mean ± SD.

¹Serum HBV DNA levels were measured by real time PCR (with a lower limit of 366 copies/mL) and log-transformed with the use of a base-10 scale. ALT: alanine aminotransferase; HBeAg: hepatitis B e antigen; HBV: hepatitis B virus; Adefovir: adefovir dipivoxil; NS: not significant.