Does antiviral treatment in men with hepatitis B increase newborn defects? The concept that antiviral therapy is the key to treating chronic viral hepatitis B (chronic hepatitis B) has been accepted by most patients, but whether antiviral drugs will cause birth defects in newborns has become the biggest concern for men of childbearing age and even for the whole family, and some patients are afraid to receive antiviral therapy for this reason, while others who are already using antiviral drugs discontinue them on their own, resulting in recurrent or even worsening disease. Currently, anti-hepatitis B virus drugs include interferon and nucleoside (acid) analogs, of which interferon (including pegylated interferon, commonly known as “long-acting” interferon; common interferon) has the effect of affecting cell mitosis, and therefore, regardless of gender, pregnancy is not allowed during interferon treatment. Nucleoside (acid) analogues include lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir, tipifovir and the recently marketed tenofovir in China, all of which have undergone rigorous animal testing during the development process, the results of which are reflected in the drug instructions. The increase in In clinical trials (Phase I, II, and III) prior to the official launch of the drug, no increase in neonatal defects was reported in male patients. Since lamivudine to tenofovir has been used in clinical trials for more than 20 years (including for AIDS treatment), the nucleoside (acid) analogs – LAM (lamivudine), ADV (adefovir), LdT (telbivudine), ETV (entecavir) and TDF (tenofovir) – have been used in combination with newborn (newborn) and defect (defect) drugs. Newborn), defect (defect) as keywords in the U.S. National Library of Medicine website (the world’s largest medical data search site) searched until December 2014 global English literature, a Chinese scholar reported a joint investigation of 18 hospitals in Guangzhou area, in 48 cases of male hepatitis B patients with lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir and telbivudine respectively, during the drug administration of the birth of The incidence of neonatal birth defects did not exceed that of the general population in the region, except for one cleft lip and one umbilical hernia. The newborns were healthy and free of defects. Based on the available animal studies and clinical data, it can be concluded that there is no significant effect on neonatal birth defects in male patients conceived during the use of nucleoside (acid) analogues. However, on the other hand, it should be noted that there are many factors affecting fetal and neonatal development and health, such as maternal health status, genetic factors, environmental pollution (including other pathogenic microbial infections), etc., and nucleoside (acid) analogs are, after all, chemical drugs. In order to minimize the risk of neonatal birth defects, male patients with indications for antiviral therapy should be treated as early as possible, after obtaining our In order to minimize the risk of birth defects in newborns, it is advisable for male patients with antiviral treatment indications to discontinue the drug after obtaining the indications recommended by our “Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B” and to conceive in a good physiological and psychological state.
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