[Polyarteritis nodosa and hepatitis B infection treated with lamivudine].

A 36-year-old man was diagnosed with polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). He presented with weight loss, hypertension, and mono-neuritis. Pneumoperitoneum and septicaemia developed and laparotomy revealed necrosis of a segment of the ileum. The patient was HBsAg/HBeAg and HBV DNA positive. Liver biopsy showed active cirrhosis. The PAN symptoms remitted upon treatment with prednisolone and lamivudine. Seroconversion from HBeAg to anti-HBe occurred six months later. One year after the end of treatment, the patient was still HBeAg and HBV DNA negative, with normal liver enzymes and no symptoms of PAN.