Prevention and treatment of hepatitis B recurrence after liver transplantation.
OBJECTIVE
To study the efficacy of liver transplantation on end-stage hepatitis B related liver diseases, and the prevention and treatment strategies of hepatitis B recurrence after the transplantation.


METHODS
The efficacy of combined treatment of lamivudine and hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) therapy on 24 patients who had received liver transplantation was retrospectively studied.


RESULTS
All the 24 patients with end-stage hepatitis B-related liver diseases treated with lamivudine alone or combined therapy of lamivudine and HBIG showed normal liver function and 21 of them lost hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers. However, the remaining 3 patients became HBsAg positive again soon after liver transplantation.


CONCLUSIONS
Liver transplantation is effective for patients with end-stage hepatitis B-related liver diseases. Combined treatment of lamivudine and HBIG may prevent the recurrence of hepatitis B after the operation.
Zhu
Jian-Ping
JP
Department of Surgery, Third Hospital of Peking University, Beijing 100083, China. zhujianpingwz@yahoo.com.cn
Zhang
Tong-Lin
TL
Li
Lei
L
Yuan
Jiong
J
Song
Shi-Bing
SB
Xiu
Dian-Rong
DR
Hou
Kuan-Yong
KY
Li
Tong
T
Zhuang
Hui
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007136:Immunoglobulins; D019259:Lamivudine; C045213:hepatitis B hyperimmune globulin