Functional cure of infants with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B receiving antiviral treatment: Case series.

Evidence regarding infants with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection receiving antiviral therapy remains limited. In this case series, 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 log10 IU/mL), a low hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) titer (4 IU/mL), and a normal ALT level. With parental informed consent, all four infants received lamivudine (LAM) monotherapy before one year of age. Ultimately, 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.