Abstract
BACKGROUND⁄ OBJECTIVES: Lamivudine is readily available and inexpensive. Guidelines recommend other antiviral medications because they achieve superior virological suppression with less resistance. These data are based on clinical trial populations and may not be representative of typical hepatitis B virus (HBV) populations. The authors assessed lamivudine in maintaining long-term viral suppression in an adherent, frequently monitored, noninvestigational HBV-infected population. METHODS: All HBV patients (n=369) between 2000 and 2010 were evaluated in a retrospective, single-centre study. Virological response was defined by complete suppression of HBV DNA (<400 copies⁄mL) and was assessed at six to 12 month intervals over four years. Enzymatic and serological outcomes, as well as treatment failures were assessed. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients (36 men; mean age 44 years, mean alanine aminotransferase level 123 U⁄L; METAVIR stage 3⁄4 [n=21], treatment naive [n=41]) received lamivudine 100 mg to 300 mg daily. The mean pretreatment viremia was 5.19 log10 copies⁄mL, and was above the limit of detection (>6.91 log10 copies⁄mL) in 11 patients (23%). The mean (± SD) dosing duration was 32±22 months. Virological suppression was achieved in 45 (96%) patients. Mean viremia declined to 3.06 log10 copies⁄mL (n=27) and 2.68 log10 copies⁄mL (n=18) at 12 and 48 months, respectively, with 78% and 88% with undetectable viremia at these time points, respectively. The mean alanine aminotransferase level declined to 31 U⁄L and 36 U⁄L at 12 and 48 months, respectively. Seven of 13 (54%) hepatitis B e antigen-positive patients seroconverted. The treatment failure rate was 11%. CONCLUSIONS: In a selected group of HBV patients, successful long-term viremia suppression was achieved with low treatment failure rates. With strict dosing adherence and monitoring for virological breakthrough, sustained virological suppression can be reliably achieved with lamivudine in carefully selected patients.