Characteristic IFN-LdT (n=52) LdT (n=44) p-value Male, No. (%) 37(71.15) 30(68.18) 0.752* Age, yr 29.8 ± 7.5 30.5 ± 7.6 0.639† ALT, IU/L 152.5 ± 86.4 190.8 ± 157.6 0.135† HBeAg, S/CO 455.4 ± 216.9 516.6 ± 236.7 0.190† HBV DNA, log copies/ml 6.77 ± 0.64 7.08 ± 0.79  0.033†,‡ HBV genotypes, No. (%)     0.964* Type B 22 (42.3) 19 (52.3)   Type C 27 (51.9) 23 (43.2)   Other 3 (5.8) 2 (4.5)

Table 1: Baseline Clinical Characteristics of the Two Groups. Data are presented as number (%) or mean ± SD. ALT, alanine aminotransferase; HBeAg, Hepatitis B e antigen; HBV, Hepatitis B virus; IFN, interferon; LdT, telbivudine. *Chi square test; †Independent-samples t-test; ‡p<0.05.