Chronic hepatitis B increases mortality and complexity among HIV‐coinfected patients in South Africa: a cohort study

Objectives To assess the effect of chronic hepatitis B on survival and clinical complexity among people living with HIV following antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Methods We evaluated mortality and single‐drug substitutions up to 3 years from ART initiation (median follow‐up 2.75 years; interquartile range 2–3 years) among patients with and without chronic hepatitis B (CHB) enrolled in a workplace HIV care programme in South Africa. Results Mortality was increased for CHB patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels > 10 000 copies/mL (adjusted hazard ratio 3.1; 95% confidence interval 1.2–8.0) compared with non‐CHB patients. We did not observe a similar difference between non‐CHB patients and those with CHB and HBV DNA < 10 000 copies/mL (adjusted hazard ratio 0.70; 95% confidence interval 0.2–2.3). Single‐drug substitutions occurred more frequently among coinfected patients regardless of HBV DNA level. Conclusions Our findings suggest that CHB may increase mortality and complicate ART management.