Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is among the most common persistent viral infections in humans. Chronic infection of HBV (CHB) can lead to serious medical complications such as cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. Surrogate markers are often used to monitor the progression of the disease and patients are treated with antiviral agents to reduce the risk of developing complications. A wide variety of competing drugs are available to patients but measuring how effective these treatments are can be problematic. The only network meta-analysis in this area had a several methodological limitations, reducing the confidence in the results produced. The systematic review was updated with additional trials, and additional methodological requirements accounted for in the network. The aim was to determine which treatment is the most effective in treating CHB patients by analysing surrogate outcomes in CHB.
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