Lamivudine treatment in infantile fulminant hepatitis B

Successful treatment of infantile hepatitis B with lamivudine: A case report

BACKGROUND

How to treat infantile hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a controversial issue. The nucleoside analogue lamivudine (LAM) has been approved to treat children (2 to 17 years old) with chronic hepatitis B. Here, we aimed to investigate the benefit of LAM treatment in infantile hepatitis B.

CASE SUMMARY

A 4-mo-old infant born to a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive woman was found to be infected by HBV during a health checkup. Liver chemistry and HBV seromarker tests showed alanine aminotransferase of 106 U/L, HBsAg of 685.2 cut-off index, hepatitis B “e” antigen of 1454.0 cut-off index, and HBV DNA of > 1.0 × 10⁹ IU/mL. LAM treatment (20 mg/d) was initiated, and after 19 mo, serum HBsAg was entirely cleared and hepatitis B surface antibody was present. The patient received LAM treatment for 2 years in total and has been followed for 3 years. During this period, serum hepatitis B surface antibody has been persistently positive, and serum HBV DNA was undetectable.

CONCLUSION

Early treatment of infantile hepatitis B with LAM could be safe and effective.

Successful Treatment of a South African Pediatric Case of Acute Liver Failure Caused by Perinatal Transmission of Hepatitis B

We report on the successful treatment of a South African infant with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced acute liver failure using lamivudine with no evidence of clinical resistance. Perinatal HBV transmission occurred despite timely HBV vaccination at 6, 10 and 14 weeks, as per South African vaccination schedule, highlighting the need to introduce the birth-dose HBV vaccine in South Africa.

Taiwan consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B

The experts of Taiwan Association for the Study of Liver (TASL) have actively participated and led the guidelines on hepatitis B virus (HBV) management by Asian Pacific Association for the Study of Liver (APASL) which is the first international association for the study of liver to publish the statement on HBV management before. However, there are more and more new data on the natural history and treatment of HBV infection in the past decade. These include new application of an old biomarker (quantitative HBsAg), clinical significance of HBV genotype and naturally occurring mutations, the role of non-invasive examination in evaluating severity of hepatic fibrosis, clinical significance of outcome calculators, new drug or new combination strategies towards more effective therapy and organ transplantation including liver and non-liver transplantation. It is time to publish the guidelines on HBV management of Taiwan. Hence, TASL have conducted an expert meeting to review, to discuss and to debate the relevant literatures, followed by draft the manuscript of HBV management guidelines and recommendations. The guidelines include general management, indications for fibrosis assessment, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy. Recommendations on the therapy of patients in special circumstances, including women in childbearing age, patients with antiviral drug resistance, concurrent viral infection, hepatic decompensation, patient receiving immune suppression or chemotherapy and patients in the setting of liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma, are also included.

Early Onset of Tenofovir-Related Fanconi Syndrome in a Child with Acute Hepatitis B: A Case Report and Systematic Review of Literature

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate- (TDF-) related nephropathy is known to be a long-term complication of this drug, more commonly observed in HIV-infected patients, but occurring also in hepatitis B. Cases of Fanconi Syndrome associated with TDF have been reported in adult patients, usually as a long-term complication of chronic hepatitis B treatment. We present here a case of a 12-year-old male developing a severe acute HBV hepatitis treated with TDF. The patient achieved an early virological and biochemical response, but with a subsequent onset of proximal renal tubular damage, consistent with Fanconi Syndrome. After withdrawing this drug and switching to Entecavir, a complete resolution of tubulopathy and, after 6 months, a complete HBsAg seroconversion occurred. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an early renal injury due to TDF-therapy in a pediatric patient treated for acute hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B and C in Children

The diagnosis and treatment of infection with hepatitis B and C has undergone a paradigm shift in the past decade. Although children with these infections are usually asymptomatic with normal liver function, their evaluation and management can often involve complex issues and require specialized expertise. Here the authors review the common clinical scenarios which might be encountered by a general pediatrician, explain the various tests available for diagnosis, and provide practical guidelines for managing these children.

Successful tenofovir treatment for fulminant hepatitis B infection in an infant

Fulminant hepatic failure is defined by the presence of severe impairment of liver function, with or without encephalopathy, in patients with no underlying chronic liver disease. We report the case of a 4-month-old infant who developed fulminant hepatitis B infection and recovered concomitant with tenofovir therapy without liver transplantation.