efficacy of pegylated interferon in treatment-experienced chinese patients with hbeag positive chronic hepatitis b

background after treatment cessation, a high prevalence of relapse was reported in chronic hepatitis b (chb) patients in china, especially in nucleot(s)ide analogues (nucs)-experienced patients. re-treatment for these patients remains unsolved. objectives this study aims to evaluate the efficacy of pegylated interferon in hbeag positive patients with exposure to antiviral therapy. patients and methods a total of 55 treatment-experienced, hbeag positive chinese patients were enrolled in this study. of these patients, 33 were nucs-experienced and 22 were interferon-experienced. pegylated interferon was administered to 34 patients; and 21 patients were retreated with conventional interferon. results of the 34 treatment-experienced patients who received pegylated interferon, 52.9% achieved virologic response, and 41.2% achieved hbeag loss and seroconversion. patients who were treated with pegylated interferon for 48 weeks achieved higher virologic response (80%); hbeag loss (60%); hbeag seroconversion (60%); and hbsag loss (5%) than patients treated for 24 weeks with pegylated interferon. their responses were also higher than those who were treated with conventional interferon. hbeag seroconversion in treatment-experienced patients was independently associated with 48-week pegylated interferon therapy duration. conclusions pegylated interferon was effective in treatment-experienced patients with hbeag positive chb, and showed higher rates of virological response, hbeag loss, and seroconversion. the results provide important information regarding the role of re-treatment with pegylated interferon in treatment-experienced hbeag positive patients.