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Practice guidelines designate subcutaneous peginterferon (as well as oral antivirals such as entecavir and tenofovir) as first-line therapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Although peginterferon can cause substantial adverse effects, the treatment is of fixed duration and does not lead to drug resistance. In hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients, peginterferon is an attractive option because it can yield high rates of HBeAg loss and seroconversion in the short term.
To assess the drug's efficacy in the longer term, researchers report a mean of 6 years of follow-up data on 85 HBeAg-positive patients who had received subcutaneous peginterferon alfa-2b (1.5 µg/kg/week for 32 weeks) plus oral lamivudine (100 mg/day for 52 weeks …