Interferon re-treatment for resistance to lamivudine plus interferon treatment.
OBJECTIVE
The most important problem of the lamivudine therapy is the frequent development of drug resistance. Treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients resistant to lamivudin remains to be established. We investigated in this study the efficacy of interferon therapy for breakthrough infection to combination therapy with interferon and lamivudine.


METHODS
Interferon therapy was applied to nine patients who experienced HBV DNA breakthrough with ALT elevation for at least three months during the lamivudine treatment, which was given in combination with interferon for the first six months. These patients were compared with 10 patients who developed breakthrough but were not given interferon. All the patients continued to receive lamivudine.


RESULTS
Of the nine patients who were given interferon, two lost HBV DNA and had normal ALT after six months of treatment. ALT levels returned to normal in two patients who had no virological response. Of those patients not given interferon, none lost HBV DNA, but three had normal ALT at the end of the same duration of follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
The patients with breakthrough infection during lamivudine treatment, which was combined with interferon at the beginning, may benefit from another cycle of interferon treatment.
Ersöz
Galip
G
Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir, Turkey.
Akarca
Ulus Salih
US
Günşar
Fulya
F
Karasu
Zeki
Z
Batur
Yücel
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019233:Retreatment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D019259:Lamivudine; D007372:Interferons; D000410:Alanine Transaminase