Lamivudine therapy for chronic hepatitis and decompensated liver cirrhosis related to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) resulted in improvement of liver function and inhibition of viral replication. Despite emergence of the HBV mutant, e-antigen seroconversion and improvement of liver function may be achieved with continuation of lamivudine therapy. Although hepatic decompensation has been reported in a few cases after the emergence of lamivudine-resistant mutants, fatal cases of non-transplant patients have only rarely been reported in the literature. Here, we describe a patient with HBV-related liver cirrhosis who died after a breakthrough infection with a lamivudine-resistant mutant. Hepatic failure and mortality developed after flare-up of severe hepatitis after 13 months of lamivudine treatment. Emergence of the HBV mutant with substitution of isoleucine for leucine at residue 426 (L4261) in combination with isoleucine for methionine at residue 550 (M5501) was observed at 10 and 13 months of treatment.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.