title: To treat or not to treat the "immunotolerant phase" of hepatitis B infection: A tunnel of controversy.
abstract: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global public health problem, with an estimated 350 million people worldwide chronically infected and approximately 500000 who die annually from HBV-related liver diseases. Management of chronic HBV is challenging and waves of guidelines emerge every year. One of the hottest topics and a matter of debate is the management of patients in their early immunotolerant phase of infection. With the lack of evidence, dealing with this particular subset of patients creates a great conflict with opposing views. In this review, the author highlights the pros and cons of these views and proposes a reasonable solution to resolve this dilemma.
authors.affiliation: Mohamed A Mekky, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut 71111, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mekky
keywords: Hepatitis B Virus; Immunotolerant phase; Liver biopsy; Nucleotide analogue; Polymerase chain reaction