OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between TCM syndrome type and liver tissue pathological changes in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in order to provide evidence for syndrome differentiation.

METHODSSyndrome typing as well as liver pathological grading and staging of liver biopsy were performed on 260 patients with CHB, then the relationship between them was analyzed.

RESULTS(1) The grade of liver inflammation was mainly G1 and G2 in patients of Gan-qi stagnation and Pi-deficiency type (type 1); G2 in patients of inner damp-heat retention type (type II); G3 in patients of Gan-Shen yin-deficiency type (type lII) and Pi-Shen yang-deficiency type (type IV); while G4 occurred mainly in patients of blood stasis blocking collateral type (type V), showing significant difference as compared with other syndrome types. (2) The liver pathological stage in patients of type I and II was mainly S1 and S2, while S3 and S4 occurred mainly in patients of type III and type IV. (3) The pathological change was mainly G3-G4 and S3-S4 in blood stasis syndrome, while it was mainly G1-G2 and S1-S2 in non-blood stasis syndrome.

CONCLUSIONThe TCM syndrome type is correlated with liver tissue pathological change to certain extent, among them, syndrome with or without blood stasis showed the closest correlation. The syndrome type of CHB patients developed, along with the aggravating of liver pathological injury, from sthenia to asthenia, from qi to blood, and finally to the blood stasis blocking collateral. So the treatment should be lay stress on activating blood circulation to remove stasis, and be implemented by 3 stages.