Brazilian Society of Hepatology and Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatitis B

Chronic hepatitis B is an important health problem that can progress to cirrhosis and complications such as hepatocellular carcinoma. There is approximately 290 million of people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection worldwide, however only 10% of patients are currently identified. Most part of Brazil is considered of low prevalence of HBV infection but there are some regions with higher frequency of carriers. Unfortunately, many infected patients are not yet identified nor evaluated for treatment. The Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI) and the Brazilian Society of Hepatology worked together to elaborate a guideline for diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B. The document includes information regarding the population to be tested, diagnostic tools, indications of treatment, therapeutic schemes and also how to handle HBV infection in specific situations (pregnancy, children, immunosuppression, etc). Delta infection is also part of the guideline, since it is an important infection in some parts of the country.