title: [The safety of telbivudine in preventing mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus in pregnant women after discontinuation].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the efficacy and safety of telbivudine for blocking intrauterine transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in pregnant women with high-load HBV DNA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women in general good health and pragnant were enrolled for study between the ages of 20 to 40 year-old, with a diagnosis of HBV infection with high-load HBV DNA level (≥1*10(6) IU/ml). According to each participant's willingness, the women were divided into a telbivudine treatment group (82 women) and an untreated control group (75 women). The telbivudine treatment was initiated at gestation week 26 as oral dosing of 600 mg/d and continued until 1 month after the birth.Women in the control group had not gotten any antiviral drug treatment. All of the women delivered by cesarean section, and all of the neonates were administered the standard passive immunization therapy, which consisted of a hepatitis B immunoglobulin (200 IU) injection given within 12 hours of birth and an injection of hepatitis B vaccine (20 µg) at birth and at postnatal month 1 and 6. None of the mother's performed breastfeeding.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The telbivudine-treated women showed a significant decrease in HBV DNA levels prior to delivery, as well as significantly decreased prenatal HBV DNA levels (>2 logl0). Efficiency of the telbivudine treatment was 100%. Immediately prior to delivery, 16 (19.5%) of the women in the telbivudine treatment group showed negative HBV DNA status, as opposed to the untreated control group in which no women showed negative status. The telbivudine treatment group had no case of maternal or fetal adverse reaction or of congenital malformation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of telbivudine antiviral therapy during late pregnancy in women with high-load HBV DNA can significantly reduce level of HBV DNA in maternal peripheral blood, block HBV intrauterine transmission, and provide good short-term efficacy, with good tolerability and safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive, Chongqing Zhongshan Hospital, Chongqing 400013, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Banan District Second People's Hospital, Chongqing 400054, China.
authors.forename: Weixin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Infectious Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.
authors.forename: Dazhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Infectious Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Infectious Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Infectious Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.
authors.forename: Yixuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Infectious Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China.
authors.forename: Weiqiong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005260:Female; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006515:Hepatitis B virus; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D000077712:Telbivudine; D013936:Thymidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D000077712:Telbivudine; D013936:Thymidine; C045213:hepatitis B hyperimmune globulin