When to start and stop hepatitis b treatment: can one set of criteria apply to all patients regardless of age at infection

Abstract

In this issue, Lai and Yuen raise concern that existing guidelines for treatment of HBV infection are inappropriate for patients with perinatal HBV infection. They propose that patients with normal ALT levels who acquire infection early in life should also be treated, and that HBeAg-positive patients should continue treatment after HBeAg seroconversion. The editorialists put aspects of Lai and Yuen's proposal in the context of existing evidenc