Age, ethnicity and proximity to clinic determine retention in care of chronic hepatitis B patients

Introduction:
There is emerging evidence about rates and determinants of linkage
to care for HBV-diagnosed patients.1 However, to date, little atten-
tion has been paid to the important issue of CHB (chronic hepatitis
B) patient retention in the outpatient setting. 2 In western centres,
most CHB patients are first-generation migrants from countries of
high HBV prevalence. Adherence with long-term follow-up may dif-
fer between ethnic groups. Also, infection is frequently diagnosed at
a young age which is known to be associated with higher risk of loss
to follow-up of many conditions.
The aim of our study was to examine, in a large multi-ethnic co-
hort attending a single specialist CHB clinic, the rate and determi-
nants of patient loss to outpatient follow-up