Objectives: This study aimed to assess the entecavir (ENT) in Turkish patients with nukleos(t)ide analogues (NA) naive chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods: The data in this study were collected retrospectively. The rates of compliance, biological, virological, and serological responses, and drug resistance and the frequency of ENT-related side effects were determined. Results: A total of 40 patients were enrolled in this study. The rates of virological response, biochemical response in HBeAg (-) patients were 100% and 96.6%, respectively. There was no HBsAg loss in HBeAg (-) patients. The rates of virological response, biochemical response, serological response, and HBsAg loss in HBeAg (+) patients were 100%, 90%, 70%, and 10% respectively. The rates of virological response and biochemical response in both HBeAg (-) and (+) patients were 100% and 95%, respectively. Complete response was detected in only one of 40 patients (2.5%) at the 96th week of treatment. The most ENT-related side effects were fatigue. Only two patients had mild renal impairment, whereas moderate or severe renal impairment was not detected. Conclusion: The treatment of ENT can be safely used as an effective first-line drug in adult Turkish patients with NAnaive CHB. Patients should be followed up more closely in terms of renal function during treatment. Keywords: chronic hepatitis B, entecavir, efficacy, naive
Corresponding Author: Mustafa Karaagac