BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global health issue, and the prognosis of patients with HBV-associated fulminant hepatic failure is extremely poor. The application of antiviral therapies has led to significant improvements in patient outcomes. This article aimed to review the current strategies in antiviral treatment of HBV-associated fulminant hepatic failure.
DATA SOURCES: Literature search was conducted using PubMed on the related subjects. Part of the data was from the most recent work of the authors' laboratory.
RESULTS: Hepatitis B immunoglobulin in prevention of recurrent HBV infection after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has been proven effective. However, its cost is high, and significant side effects have been found to induce viral mutations. Lamivudine has a potent suppression for HBV replication and an excellent safety profile in decompensated cirrhotic patients, but its major drawback is the high rate of drug-resistance. Adefovir is effective for lamivudine-resistance strains in the post-OLT situation, and its drug-resistance rate is relatively low. Combination therapies such as hepatitis B immunoglobulin combined with lamivudine and lamivudine combined with adefovir have been widely adopted for prophylaxis against HBV recurrence of infection after OLT. Entecavir, telbivudine, tenofovir and other newer agents have been widely used in antiviral therapy.
CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of HBV-associated fulminant hepatic failure is being transformed by developments in antiviral therapy. However, it should be noticed that HBV is controlled but never eliminated, and drug-resistance still remains a major issue. Hopefully, newer strategies may help to solve these problems.