TREAT-B has Good Accuracy in Selecting HBV Infected Patients for Treatment in Sudan

Non-invasive and invasive diagnostic methods, which are not readily available in Sudan, are used to guide HBV treatment. Africa adopted the TREAT-B as a straightforward score in 2018 to identify patients in need of anti-HBV treatment.

Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of the TREAT-B score to the standard scores EASL and AASLD in HBV patients.

Methods: At Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital, 108 HBV patients were enrolled in an analytical cross-sectional study (January- October 2019). Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS.

Results: Eight patients (7.4%) were eligible for therapy under the AASLD recommendations, 18 patients (16.7%) were suitable under the EASL guidelines, and twenty-seven patients (25%) were eligible under the TREAT-B guidelines. According to the Wald statistic, the AUROC of TREAT-B (0.883; 95% CI 0.790-0.976; Sen. 85.3%; Sp. 70.3%) was substantially higher than the AUROC of the AASLD criteria (0.722; 95% CI 0. 0.566-0.878; Sen. 74.4%; Sp. 69.8%); and lower than the AUROC of the EASL criteria (0.952; 95% CI 0.790-0.976.

Conclusion: The TREAT-B score was effective at identifying HBV-infected patients who should receive antiviral treatment.