| Theme |
Disease of Liver, Gallbladder, Spleen, and Pancreas in Dialysis Patients |
| Title |
Treatment of hepatitis B in the chronic dialysis patients |
| Author |
Kazuhiko Hora |
Division of Artificial Kidney, Shinshu University Hospital |
| Author |
Tetsuji Kakegawa |
Division of Artificial Kidney, Shinshu University Hospital |
| [ Summary ] |
Chronic dialysis patients are at high risk of contracting hepatits B virus (HBV). The major infectious pathway for HBV is nasocomital infection. Failures of infectious control practices still lead to outbreaks of HBV in hemodialysis units. Since the cellular immunity of dialyzed patients is decreased, they are likely to become HBV carriers when they are infected with HBV. Progression to chronic active hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma has been observed in some HBV carriers. There is no sufficient treatment for chronic hepatitis B at present. Interferon, has not been useful for treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Recently, lamivudine, a potent inhibitor of HBV DNA polymerase, has been widely used for treatment of chronic hepatitis B. However there is still controversy over how to use this agent. Moreover, the treatment of interferon and lamivudine for dialyzed patients remains to be solved in the future. |