[Hepatitis B: who should be treated?]

Current therapy for hepatitis B has a limited effect and can rarely eradicate viral infection (normalization of ALT, nullification of HBV DNA, or seroconversion of HBsAg to anti-HBs). Progress in hepatitis B therapy over the last 5 years did not have much influence in this segment. Modifications in therapeutic indications for both acute and chronic hepatitis B presented below are based on standings of the Consensus Conference of the American National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2008, Canadian Consensus Conference from 2007, and Consensus Conference of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) from 2009. It seemed appropriate to retain the division of treatable patients in 3 groups: 1) patients in whom therapy is indicated; 2) patients in whom therapy may be indicated; and 3) patients in whom immediate therapy is not routinely indicated, as stated in the guidelines of the 2002 EASL Consensus Conference, 2004 Croatian Consensus Conference and 2008 NIH Consensus Conference.