Most individuals with
chronic hepatitis B viral (HBV)
infection acquired the
infection around the time of birth or during early childhood. We aimed to synthesize evidence regarding the effectiveness of
antiviral therapy in the management of chronic HBV
infection in children. We conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases from 1988 to December 2, 2014, for studies that enrolled children (<18 years) with chronic HBV
infection treated with
antiviral therapy. We included observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two independent reviewers selected studies and extracted data. In the 14 included studies, two cohort studies showed no significant reduction in the already low risk of
hepatocellular carcinoma or
cirrhosis and 12 RCTs reported intermediate outcomes. In RCTs with posttreatment follow-up <12 months,
antiviral therapy compared to placebo improved
alanine aminotransferase normalization (risk ratio [RR] = 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-3.2),
hepatitis B e antigen (
HBeAg) clearance/loss (RR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-3.1), HBV
DNA suppression (RR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.8-4.6),
HBeAg seroconversion (RR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.4-3.3), and
hepatitis B surface antigen clearance (RR = 5.8, 95% CI 1.1-31.5). In RCTs with posttreatment follow-up ≥12 months,
antiviral therapy improved cumulative
HBeAg clearance/loss (RR = 1.9, 95% CI 1.7-3.1),
HBeAg seroconversion (RR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.5),
alanine aminotransferase normalization (RR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.7), and HBV
DNA suppression (RR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.8) but not
hepatitis B surface antigen clearance or seroconversion.
CONCLUSION: