Overview

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the family of hepadnaviruses. HBV infection is a global public health problem. It is estimated that there are more than 250 million HBV carriers in the world, of whom approximately 600,000 die annually from HBV-related liver disease. Despite the availability of HBV vaccines, the rate of HBV-related hospitalizations, cancers, and deaths in the United States have more than doubled during the past decade.

The following topic review will summarize issues related to the management of HBV infection. The recommendations below are generally consistent with guidelines from the European consensus statement, Asian-Pacific consensus statement, and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Practice Guidelines. Clinical decisions regarding individual patients should be based upon patient-specific clinical information and test results.

Topic reviews that discuss the management of pregnant women and children with HBV infection, as well as the data supporting this section, are presented separately.