Lamivudine plus tenofovir combination therapy versus lamivudine monotherapy for HBV/HIV coinfection: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no consensus on the efficacy and safety of lamivudine (LAM) plus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) combination therapy versus lamivudine monotherapy in HBV/HIV coinfected patients. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in English and Chinese databases. Both relevant dichotomous and continuous variables were extracted, and the combined outcomes were expressed as a risk ratio (RR) or a standard mean difference (SMD). RESULTS: Eleven eligible studies were included in our analysis. For HBV-relevant outcomes, the proportion of patients with undetectable HBV, the rates of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) loss were higher in the combination therapy group than the monotherapy group (RR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.14–1.76, P = 0.002; RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.17–1.58, P < 0.0001; RR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.20–6.22, P = 0.02). In addition, the rate of HIV RNA-negative conversion was higher in the combination therapy group than the monotherapy group (RR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.11–1.42, P = 0.0003). CONCLUSION: LAM plus TDF combination therapy was more efficacious than LAM monotherapy in HBV/HIV coinfected patients. As time passes, this difference becomes more pronounced. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12985-018-1050-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.