Background: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of the -interferon treatment with treatment using -interferon and lamivudine in combination for cases of childhood chronic hepatitis B infection.

Methods: Patients were evaluated in two groups retrospectively. In group 1, 27 patients were simultaneously given -interferon 2b 10 MU/m², 3 days a week by s.c. injection plus lamivudine 4 mg/kg a day (maximum 100 mg) for 12 months. In group 2, there were 13 patients who only received the same dosage of -interferon and no lamivudine over the same period of time.

Results: In group 1 the initial mean value of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was 121 ± 66 IU/L and decreased to 27.8 ± 11.5 IU/L; in group 2, initial mean values of ALT was 129 ± 46 IU/L and decreased to 60 ± 6 IU/L at the end of the twelfth month of the therapy (P< 0.05). Hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV-DNA) clearance was obtained in all group 1 patients and six of 13 patients in group 2 at the end of the therapy (P< 0.001). The rates of hepatitis B early (HBe) antigen clearance and anti-HBe seroconversion were 59 and 37% in group 1 and 46 and 30.7% in group 2 (P> 0.05). The number of patients with complete response was found to be 10 out of 27 (37%) in group 1 and four out of 13 cases (30.7%) in group 2, 6 months after the end of the therapy. There was no statistically significant difference between both groups (P> 0.05).

Conclusion: -Interferon and lamivudine combination therapy had a more beneficial effect than -interferon monotherapy in normalization of ALT and clearance of HBV-DNA; however, the complete response rate at 6 months after the end of the therapy was not statistically significantly different between both groups.