Chronic viral hepatitis B

  Hepatitis B is a worldwide infectious disease that seriously endangers human health. According to epidemiological studies, about 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with hepatitis B virus, 350 million of them are chronic hepatitis B virus infected, and the number of new infections is about 50 million every year, and the number of deaths due to hepatitis B cirrhosis and liver cancer is about 1 million every year.  China’s hepatitis B virus infection rate is now 7.18%, according to this estimate, China’s existing chronic hepatitis B infection of about 93 million people, including chronic hepatitis B patients about 20 million. For chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients, reducing the development of associated diseases is the key to improving the prognosis of hepatitis B patients, and standardized scientific management is an important measure. Since mother-to-child transmission is the main way of hepatitis B infection in China at present, the management of hepatitis B virus infection should start with the baby.  1, the doll hepatitis B chronic more: the incidence of chronic hepatitis caused by infection with hepatitis B virus in different periods is absolutely different. Epidemiological studies have found that the chances of whether hepatitis B virus infection develops into chronic hepatitis B depend on the age of the patient at the time of hepatitis B infection. The younger the age, the greater the chance of developing chronic hepatitis B. The highest incidence is in newborns (90%) and in children aged 1-5 years (25%-50%). The rate drops to 6-10% for children older than 5 years of age. Most patients with chronic hepatitis B are infected at birth or in early childhood.  2, health check hepatitis B: hepatitis B infection because there is no clinical manifestations, most of them can only be detected by hepatitis B examination during physical examination, so for infants and children routine examination and inspection, unless the hepatitis B surface antibody is significantly elevated, then the hepatitis B surface antigen needs to be examined as a mandatory item in the physical examination, in order to detect cases of hepatitis B infection early.  If the mother has a hepatitis B infection, the hepatitis B diphosphorus and hepatitis B virus DNA test can be checked one month after the completion of the three doses of hepatitis B vaccination, which can determine the success of hepatitis B immunization. If the surface antibody of hepatitis B is significantly higher than the protection level (10IU/ml), it indicates that the vaccination is successful; if it is below that level, it is necessary to re-vaccinate.  3, the disease can not be urgent: the natural history of hepatitis B virus infection can be divided into four stages, namely the immune tolerance period, the immune clearance period, the inactive or low (non) replication period and the reactive period. Not all patients with hepatitis B necessarily need to be treated. The best results are achieved when treatment is administered according to the phase. Studies have shown that treatment during the immune tolerance period is generally difficult to obtain an effective response, and treatment is often “a waste of money” and adds to the financial burden of the family, and the adverse effects of drugs are often more detrimental to the patient.  The majority of infants and children with B virus infection are in the immune tolerance period. This period is characterized by normal liver function, active hepatitis B virus replication, high copy number of hepatitis B virus DNA, minor or no significant pathological changes in the liver. This period of patients should not be too much intervention treatment, but not treatment is not the same as put should flow, the establishment of disease files, scientific management, regular check liver function, hepatitis B two-to-one half and hepatitis B virus DNA level, can be found in time the best time for treatment.  4, the best period to grasp: immune clearance period is the body’s immune system to the hepatitis B virus began to have the ability to immune response, kill the hepatitis B virus, but also lead to liver damage, therefore, this period is characterized by a rise in transaminases, viral DNA levels began to decline, liver pathological examination can be found to have a more obvious inflammatory response. The immune clearance phase is currently considered to be the best time to treat hepatitis B virus infection.  Once a patient is found to be in the immune clearance phase of the natural disease process, timely application of antiviral therapy can help the body’s immune system to better control the virus, making it easier to achieve more desirable results. However, it must be noted that elevated transaminases are not necessarily the result of hepatitis B virus infection, and other possible causes need to be ruled out by a pediatric hepatologist; in some cases, transaminases are normal, but there are obvious pathological changes in liver pathology, which also suggests that in the immune clearance period, timely intervention therapy.  5, standardized treatment is the key: the standardized treatment of hepatitis B virus infection is now basically in accordance with the management process of the World Health Organization. The key to hepatitis B virus treatment is antiviral therapy, and antiviral drugs should be reasonably selected by a pediatric hepatologist based on the assessment results. Priority cases for treatment include: all hepatitis B patients with evidence of compensated or metabolic cirrhosis, regardless of transaminase levels, hepatitis B virus e antibody status and hepatitis B virus DNA levels; for chronic hepatitis B patients without evidence of cirrhosis who also have persistently elevated alanine aminotransferase and evidence of active hepatitis B virus replication (hepatitis B virus DNA > 20,000 IU/mL), treatment is recommended regardless of their hepatitis B e antigen. Patients without clinical evidence of cirrhosis, with persistently normal alanine aminotransferases and low levels of hepatitis B virus replication (hepatitis B virus DNA < 20,000 IU/mL) do not require immediate treatment, regardless of hepatitis B e antigen status or age, but need to be monitored continuously.  For first-line antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B, guidelines recommend tenofovir or entecavir, nucleoside (acid) analogs with a high resistance barrier, for all adults, adolescents, and children >12 years of age with chronic hepatitis B for whom antiviral therapy is indicated. entecavir is recommended for children 2-11 years of age. Switch to tenofovir is recommended for patients with confirmed or suspected resistance to lamivudine, entecavir or telbivudine (e.g., history of prior drug use or primary non-response). Monitor disease progression and treatment response in patients with chronic hepatitis B before, after and at the time of treatment, and make timely adjustments to the treatment regimen.