1. Safety study on postpartum breastfeeding for HBV infected patients with E antigen positive and in immune tolerant phase
Xiang GAO ; Ming WANG ; Yunxia ZHU ; Qian BIAN ; Hua ZHANG ; Jun MENG ; Huaibing ZHOU ; Zhongping DUAN
Chinese Journal of Experimental and Clinical Virology 2018;32(4):391-394
Objective:
Many physicians and patients still have concerns about the safety of breastfeeding in mothers infected with hepatitis B virus; we evaluate the safety of the newborn and the women with HBeAg positive and high viral load, who received nucleoside analogues to block maternal to child transmisssion and selected postpartum breastfeeding after drug discontinuance.
Methods:
This prospective, observational study enrolled 60 HBeAg positive patients and HBV-DNA >2*10E+ 5 IU/ml, all patients started antiviral treatment for blocking maternal to child transmission at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy. All the newborns received the active-passive immunization therapy with hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) and HBVac. After the delivery, patients with normal liver function discontinued the antiviral drug and selected breastfeeding voluntarily. The safety of breastfeeding were compared with patients selected artificial feedings, they were followed up for 7 months. Primary measurements were the proportion of mothers with abormal liver function after stopping the drug and the level of newborn’s anti-HBs at 6 months of age; secondary measurements were the positive rate of neonatal HBsAg and the HBV-DNA value of the patients at 6 weeks postpartum.
Results:
From December 1, 2015 to May 1, 2017, 415 patients were enrolled in Beijing You’an Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Medical University and all these patients were born following full-term single-child pregnancy. After the delivery and drug withdrawal, there was no significant difference in the incidence of ALT elevation between the breast fed group and the artificially fed group: 29 /220 versus 30/195, (χ2=0.411,