Prevention of hepatitis B virus recurrence after liver transplantation in cirrhotic patients treated with lamivudine and passive immunoprophylaxis

Liver transplantation for hepatitis B virus: Decreasing indication and changing trends

“…In our study population, 15 patients (11%) developed HBV reinfection during the follow-up period, which is in agreement with the rates described in other studies [34][35][36] . Most of the patients in our study who developed resistance underwent transplantation early during the study period, which explains their significantly longer posttransplant follow-up.…”

Hepatitis B: Progress in the last 15 years

“…74 From 1999 to 2001, results of combination therapy became available from many centers using different HBIg protocols. Compared with the study by Markowitz et al, 45 in which patients were administered 90,000 IU during the first postoperative month, the amount of HBIg administered was intermediate (40,000 to 50,000 IU) in three series, 47,76,77 low (14,000 IU) in one series, 46 and very low (4,000 to 6,500 IU) in the two Australian-New Zealand series. 64,75 The route of HBIg administration also was variable.…”

“…Benefits of combination therapy have been confirmed in several studies reported since 1998. [45][46][47]64,[74][75][76][77] In all series, LAM was administered pre-OLT and post-OLT. At the time of the initial evaluation, 39% to 100% of patients were HBV DNA positive.…”

“…[45][46][47]64,[74][75][76][77] McCaughan et al 64 showed that combination therapy with very low doses of HBIg was associated with universal prevention of HBV recurrence in 10 patients infected with precore mutants. In some series, 45,46,75 but not others, 76 HBV DNA became undetectable by polymerase chain reaction after OLT with combination therapy. Results of these studies suggest that high doses of HBIg may be unnecessary in many patients, particularly for those HBV DNA negative at the time of OLT.…”

Management of Recurrent HCV and HBV Infections after Liver Transplantation

“…Overall, 5 to 10% of LTs worldwide are performed in HBsAg-positive patients . By dint of long-term use of hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) combined with highly effective and well-tolerated nucleoside/nucleotide analogues (NUCs) HBV reinfection rate decreased below 10% (Angus et al, 2000;Marzano et al, 2001). Together with these favorable results there are, however, some concerns.…”