Subclinical proximal tubulopathy in hepatitis B: The roles of nucleot(s)ide analogue treatment and the hepatitis B virus

{BACKGROUND The recommended monitoring tools for evaluating nucleot(s)ide analogue renal toxicity, such as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and phosphatemia, are late markers of proximal tubulopathy. Multiple early markers are available, but no consensus exists on their use. AIM To determine the 24 mo prevalence of subclinical proximal tubulopathy (SPT), as defined with early biomarkers, in treated vs untreated hepatitis B virus (HBV)-monoinfected patients. METHODS A prospective, non-randomized, multicenter study of HBV-monoinfected patients with a low number of renal comorbidities was conducted. The patients were separated into three groups: Naive, starting entecavir (ETV) treatment, or starting tenofovir disoproxil (TDF) treatment. Data on the early markers of SPT, the eGFR and phosphatemia, were collected quarterly. SPT was defined as a maximal tubular reabsorption of phosphate/eGFR below 0.8 mmoL/L and/or uric acid fractional excretion above 10%. The prevalence and cumulative incidence of SPT at month 24 (M24) were calculated. Quantitative data were analyzed using analyses of variance or Kruskal-Wallis tests, whereas chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze qualitative data. Multivariate analyses were used to adjust for any potential confounding factors. RESULTS Of the 196 patients analyzed, 138 (84 naive, 28 starting ETV, and 26 starting TDF) had no SPT at inclusion. At M24, the prevalence of SPT was not statistically different between naive and either treated group (21.1% vs 30.7%, P < 0.42 and 50.0% vs 30.7%