All issues > Volume 50(9); 2007

Review Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2007;50(9):823-834. Published online September 15, 2007.

The management and treatment of chronic hepatitis B in Korean children

Byung-Ho BH Choe¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea

Correspondence Byung-Ho BH Choe ,Email: bhchoi@knu.ac.kr

Abstract

Interferon (IFN) alpha has been the first line therapy of chronic hepatitis B in children, but HBeAg seroconversion occurred in 26% of treated children compared to 11% of controls in multinational randomized controlled study. Recently, lamivudine was shown to be a potent inhibitor of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reproduction both in HBeAg positive and in HBeAg negative (the pre-core mutant form) chronic hepatitis in randomized studies worldwide. Lamivudine therapy led to considerable improvement in the seroconversion rate of HBeAg in children with chronic hepatitis B, though long-term therapy resulted in the expansion of lamivudine-resistant mutant viruses. Combination therapy with lamivudine plus alpha-IFN does not seem to improve HBe Ag seroconversion. Above all, the most effective way to prevent hepatitis B is universal HBV vaccination.

Keywords :Chronic Hepatitis B, Management, Treatment, Interferon, Lamivudine, Children