A randomized controlled trial of lamivudine to treat acute hepatitis B

Kumar, M. ; Satapathy, S. ; Monga, R. ; Das, K. ; Hissar, S. ; Pande, C. ; Sharma, B. C. ; Sarin, S. K. (2007) A randomized controlled trial of lamivudine to treat acute hepatitis B Hepatology, 45 (1). pp. 97-102. ISSN 0270-9139

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Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hep.214...

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hep.21486

Abstract

The role of antivirals in patients with acute viral hepatitis B (AVH-B) has not been evaluated in controlled trials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of lamivudine in patients with AVH-B. AVH-B patients with serum bilirubin of more than 5 mg/dL were randomized to receive either 100 mg of lamivudine daily for 3 months (group 1, n = 31) or placebo (group 2, n = 40). Patients were considered to have severe AVH-B if they fulfilled 2 of 3 criteria: (1) hepatic encephalopathy; (2) serum bilirubin ≥ 10.0 mg/dL; and (3) international normalized ratio (INR) ≥ 1.6. At week 4, HBV DNA levels were significantly lower (P = 0.037) in group 1 (median: 3.6721 log copies/mL) than group 2 (median: 4.2721 log copies/mL). Thereafter, HBV DNA levels were comparable in the 2 groups. The improvement in serum bilirubin, ALT, and INR values was similar in the 2 groups. Twenty-two patients (71%) in group 1 and 25 patients (62.5%) in group 2 had severe AVH-B. Results were similar when patients with severe AVH-B were analyzed separately. After 12 and 18 months, 93.5% and 92.5%, respectively, of patients in the lamivudine group and 96.7% and 97.5%, respectively, of patients in the placebo group lost HBsAg. There were no deaths in either group. After 1 year, 21 patients (67.7%) in group 1 and 34 patients (85%) in group 2 developed protective anti-HBs titers (P = 0.096). All HBeAg-positive patients in both groups lost e antigen and anti-HBe developed in 71% and 87.5% of patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively (P = 0.132). Conclusion: Though lamivudine causes a greater decrease in levels of HBV DNA, it does not cause significantly greater biochemical and clinical improvement as compared to placebo in patients with acute hepatitis B.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to John Wiley and Sons.
ID Code:44248
Deposited On:21 Jun 2011 06:23
Last Modified:18 May 2016 01:00

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