Liver histology pattern of young patients with inactive chronic hepatitis b virus infection from a hospital in South West Nigeria

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in sub-Saharan Africa. A significant proportion of patients with CHB are inactive carriers, for whom guidelines neither recommend biopsy nor treatment. In sub-Saharan Africa, patients under 30 years old with CHB sometimes develop liver cancer, raising the possibility that significant liver disease may occur early in life in these patients. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with inactive CHB. A convenient sampling method was used to recruit patients. All patients underwent a percutaneous liver biopsy to evaluate significant necroinflammation and fibrosis using the Meta-analysis of histological data in viral hepatitis (METAVIR) system, defined as at least METAVIR A2, F2 disease. Tests of association between the histological outcomes, sociodemographic factors, and laboratory findings were performed. The data obtained were entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A p-value of