• Bruce Y Tung and Kris V Kowdley.
• Division of Gastroenterology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
• Clin. Infect. Dis. 2005 Nov 15; 41 (10): 1461-6.

AbstractLiver transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with liver failure secondary to chronic hepatitis B. However, liver transplantation is complicated by the risk of recurrent hepatitis B virus infection, which significantly impairs graft and patient survival. The main risk factor for the development of recurrent hepatitis B virus infection is the virus load at the time of transplantation. The development of antiviral medications, such as lamivudine and adefovir, and the implementation of effective prophylactic regimens using hepatitis B immune globulin have significantly improved the outcomes of hepatitis B after liver transplantation. However, current approaches continue to be hampered by the extremely high cost of treatment and the emergence of drug-resistant viral mutations. Ongoing studies are necessary to establish the most cost-effective approaches to prevent recurrent hepatitis B virus infection after liver transplantation.

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