Functional cure of infants with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B receiving antiviral treatment: Cases report

Abstract Evidence regarding infants with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection receiving antiviral therapy remains limited. In this cases report, we describe four infants aged 7–10 months diagnosed with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB). CHB01, CHB03, and CHB04 demonstrated active HBV replication and elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. CHB02 presented with a relatively low HBV DNA level (3.52 log 10 IU/mL), a low hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titer (4 IU/mL), and a normal ALT level. With parental consent, all four infants received Lamivudine (LAM) monotherapy before one year of age. Finally, all achieved undetectable HBV DNA after a mean of 5.5 months, HBeAg seroconversion at 8.5 months, HBsAg loss at 7.0 months, and functional cure at 11 months on average. This suggests that early initiation of antiviral treatment may help achieve functional cure for infants with HBeAg-positive CHB.