Patient's question:
My mother has chronic hepatitis B (HBsAg positive). She has been taking oral medication for a month and wants to stop. I'm wondering if this will cause any side effects. What will be the effect if she continues taking it?Doctor's answer:
The indicators for hepatitis B antiviral treatment are: moderate liver function abnormalities and high levels of viral DNA! Once antiviral treatment has begun, it is not advisable to stop taking the medication privately, as this can easily lead to a viral rebound! Generally, antiviral treatment requires persistence for more than 1 year! You can have liver function and viral DNA tested at a regular hospital; if both are normal, you can consider gradually reducing the medication while closely monitoring liver function. If there is no rebound within one month after reducing the medication, you can then consider increasing the dosage again. This process continues until the medication is stopped! After stopping the medication, regular liver function tests are still necessary. As long as liver function is normal, antiviral treatment is no longer required.