Antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B in children

For children with chronic hepatitis B( CHB),the antiviral therapy should be started in the immune active phase. There are two categories of antiviral drugs used for CHB: interferons( IFNs) and nucleos( t) ide analogues( NAs). In this paper,the current status of antiviral therapy of CHB in children is reviewed. It is pointed out that IFNs are the drug of first choice in antiviral therapy for children with CHB,and the individualized treatment and management of adverse events need to be considered. Some NAs can be given to those special children who cannot accept IFNs. However,there is a high risk of relapse after drug withdrawal. And the subsequent treatment will be seriously affected once the drug resistance is developed. It needs further investigation to improve the efficacy of antiviral therapy and reduce the adverse events and the drug resistance in the future.