Additional benefit of lamivudine treatment as a preventive therapy for hepatic encephalopathy in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis associated with hepatitis B.

Lamivudine has previously been found to be effective not only in patients with compensated liver disease due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) but also in those with hepatic decompensation. However, long-term follow-up of patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE) has not been previously reported. We describe a patient with recurrent HE associated with decompensated liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis B. After the initiation of treatment with lamivudine, manifestation of HE has not been observed for about 2 years and liver function has improved as well. This experience suggests that improved liver function using lamivudine may contribute to prevention from recurrence of HE.