Ten-Year Evaluation and Therapeutic Efficacy of Three Different Regimens in Naive Children with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection Open Access

Background. The aim of the present study was to evaluate naive children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and to compare the therapeutic efficacy of three different regimens in this patients groups.

Methods. In this retrospective study, 403 naive children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection who had been followed-up at the out-patient pediatric infectious disease clinics of Balcali Hospital from January 2004 to December 2013 were evaluated. Of the total 403 pediatric patients who had CHB infection, while 126 (31.2%) had spontaneous seroconversion, 277 (68.8%) did not have spontaneous seroconversion. Of the total 277 pediatric patients who had CHB infection, 165 (40.9%) were treated with three different treatment modalities, 112 (27.8%) had been followed-up with CHB infection. A total of 165 children were prospectively allocated to three treatment groups i.e. monotherapy (group I and group II) and combination therapy (group III). In the monotherapy groups; group 1; 35 patients received interferon-alpha (IFN-α) 2b, for 6 months, group II: 29 patients received Lamuvidin (LAM) for 12 months. In the combination groups; 101 patients in the Group III received LAM for 12 months and IFN-α 2b added to LAM for first 6 months.

Results. The median age of 403 patients who participated in the study was 192 months and the median diagnosis period was 119 months. 57.1% of the patients were identified during family screening. The existence of hepatitis B in the family was 82.6%. When the patients who had spontaneous seroconversion and those who had no spontaneous seroconversion are examined, it is seen that the median age (198 months) and median diagnosis period (122 months) in the patients with spontaneous seroconversion was statistically higher and longer than those without spontaneous seroconversion (190 versus 108, respectively) (p < 0.01). No statistically significant difference was found in terms of response to treatment between the three different treatment modalities.

Conclusion. In this study, no statistically significant difference was found in terms of response to treatment between the three different treatment modalities given to the patients who met treatment criteria. The potential benefits of these three therapeutic regimens need to be further investigated to confirm these results with larger number of patients.

Disclosures. All authors: No reported disclosures.

Author notes