OBJECTIVESerum fibrotic markers were investigated for diagnosing and prognosing liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B.

METHODSLiver biopsy data of 93 patients before and after treatment were gathered from an experiment group (Fuzhenghuayu capsule, 36 cases) and a control group (Heluoshugan capsule, 57 cases) from multiple medical centers, using randomized and double blind strategies to evaluate the effectiveness of Fuzhenghuayu capsules against liver fibrosis. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the treatment efficacy: an effectual group and a non-effectual group. The hepatic inflammation, liver function and serum fibrotic markers of the patients of the two groups were analyzed.

RESULTSWe found that (1) Liver fibrosis improved with hepatic inflammation improvement. (2) After the drug treatment, the serum HA and PIIIP levels of the effectual group decreased obviously (t = 3.34, t =3.17, P < 0.01), and the decreased degree was higher than that of the non-effectual group, but there were no changes for LN and IV-C levels. (3) Alb contents increased (t = 3.24, P < 0.01) and activities of GGT and AST and PT decreased significantly in the effectual group, but there was no change in the non-effectual group.

CONCLUSIONThe serum GGT and AST activities, PT, Alb, HA and PIIIP contents in the chronic hepatitis B patients are good markers for evaluating the degree of liver fibrosis and the effectiveness of the drug action, but the values of LN and IV-C in the evaluation need to be studied more.