Blog
Monday, November 4, 2013
AASLD 2013: More Studies Show Why Lamivudine Should No Longer Be Used
— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
More Studies Show Why Lamivudine Should No Longer Be Used
Lamivudine a poor choice for lowering viral load in pregnant women: Twenty-one women with high viral load were treated with lamivudine for about 53 days toward the end of their pregnancies. None transmitted the infection to their newborns, but they had only modest reductions in viral load and four women developed some form of drug resistance.
Control ID 1735799. Short duration of lamivudine for prevention of HBV transmission in pregnancy: Lack of potency and selection of resistance mutations. (Abstract #1018)
Lamivudine treatment ineffective in cirrhotic patients, compared to other antivirals. Korean researchers followed 1,824 patients treated with either lamivudine or entecavir for more than five years and found that cirrhotic patients treated with entecavir had markedly lower rates of liver transplants or death from liver disease than those treated with lamivudine.
Control ID 1735949. Comparative effectiveness of entecavir and lamivudine on survival of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. (Abstract #32)