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Background and Aims: Sustained off-treatment immune control is achievable in a proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with peginterferon alfa-2a. We evaluated on-treatment predictors of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance 3 years after peginterferon alfa-2a treatment and determined the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma., Methods: A prospective, international, multicenter, observational study in patients with chronic hepatitis B who have been prescribed peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD) in a real-world setting. The primary endpoint was HBsAg clearance after 3 years' follow-up., Results: The modified intention-to-treat population comprised 844 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients (540 [64%] completed 3 years' follow-up), and 872 HBeAg-negative patients (614 [70%] completed 3 years' follow-up). At 3 years' follow-up, HBsAg clearance rates in HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative populations, respectively, were 2% (16/844) and 5% (41/872) in the modified intention-to-treat population and 5% [16/328] and 10% [41/394] in those with available data. In HBeAg-positive patients with data, Week 12 HBsAg levels <1500, 1500-20,000, and >20,000 IU/mL were associated with HBsAg clearance rates at 3 years' follow-up of 11%, 1%, and 5%, respectively (Week 24 predictability was similar). In HBeAg-negative patients with available data, a ≥10% decline vs a <10% decline in HBsAg at Week 12 was associated with HBsAg clearance rates of 16% vs 4%. Hepatocellular carcinoma incidence was lower than REACH-B (Risk Estimation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis B) model predictions., Conclusions: Sustained off-treatment immune control is achieved with peginterferon alfa-2a in a real-world setting. HBsAg clearance 3 years after completion of peginterferon alfa-2a can be predicted on the basis of on-treatment HBsAg kinetics., Competing Interests: This study was funded by F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. The following authors have competing interests to declare. Patrick Marcellin: Grant: Abbvie, Assembly Biosciences, Eiger, Genfit; Gilead, Intercept, MSD, Investigator: Eiger, Gilead; Speaker/expert: Gilead, Hebabiz, MSD, Mylan. Qing Xie: Speaker/advisor: AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Roche. Seung Woon Paik: Research support: BMS, Gilead, GSK, Roche. Robert Flisiak: Speaker/advisor: AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Roche. Teerha Piratvisuth: Grant: Roche, MSD, Bayer; Sponsored Lectures: BMS, Roche, MSD, Novartis, GSK; Advisory Board: Roche, MSD, BMS. Jörg Petersen: Grant/Research: BMS, Novartis, Roche; Consultant/Advisor: Abbott, AbbVie, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead, GSK, Kedrion, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Roche; Speaker: Abbott, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead, Kedrion, Janssen, Merck, MSD, Novartis, Roche. Tarik Asselah: Consultant and Clinical Investigator/Speaker: Roche, AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, Janssen, MSD Markus Cornberg: Advisory Committees/Review Panels: AbbVie, Biogen, BMS, Gilead, Janssen-Cilag, MSD, Roche, Spring Bank; Speaking/Teaching: AbbVie, BMS, Falk, Gilead, Janssen-Cilag, MSD, Roche. Data Safety Management Board: Janssen-Cilag. Grant/Research Support: Roche. Denis Ouzan: Grant and speaker/expert: AbbVie, Gilead, MSD. Graham R. Foster: Speaker/consultancy: AbbVie, BMS, Merck, Gilead, Janssen, Tekmira, Alnylam, Roche. Georgios Papatheodoridis: Advisory Committees/Review Panels: AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Gilead, GSK, Ipsen, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Roche, Spring Bank; Grant/Research Support: AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, Janssen, Roche; Speaking and Teaching: AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Roche; Data Safety Management Board: Gilead. Diethelm Messinger: Employment: Prometris GmbH (provide statistical support for Roche). Georgios Bakalos, Loredana Regep, Ulrich Alshuth: Employment: F Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Roche s.r.o, Roche Pharma AG). Pietro Lampertico: Advisory board/speaker bureau: AbbVie, Alnylam, Arrowhead, BMS, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Roche. Heiner Wedemeyer: Grant: Abbott, AbbVie, BMS, Gilead, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens; Consultant: Abbott, AbbVie, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead, JJ/Janssen-Cilag, Merck/Schering-Plough, Novartis, Roche, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens, Transgene, ViiV; Speaker: Abbott, AbbVie, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead, JJ/Janssen- Cilag, Merck/Schering-Plough, Novartis, Roche, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens, Transgene, ViiV. All authors disclose medical writing support from F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Background & Aims: We investigated whether HBV genotype influences on-treatment HBsAg kinetics and/or the end-of-treatment HBsAg levels associated with long-term virological response in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B patients treated with peginterferon alfa-2a±lamivudine in the Phase III trial., Methods: All patients (n=230) who participated in long-term follow-up were included according to the availability of HBsAg level measurements. Long-term virological response was defined as HBV DNA ≤ 10,000cp/ml (1786IU/ml) at 5 years post-treatment. Genotype-specific end-of-treatment HBsAg levels associated with long-term virological response (identified by ROC analysis) were assessed in 199 patients with HBsAg measurements available at baseline and end-of-treatment. HBsAg kinetics according to genotype and long-term virological response were investigated in the 117 patients with additional samples available at weeks 12, 24, and 72., Results: Baseline HBsAg levels were significantly higher for A than B, C, and D genotypes (p<0.05). On-treatment HBsAg kinetics varied according to HBV genotype. The difference between responders and non-responders was greatest for genotype A from weeks 12-24; for genotypes B and D from baseline to week 12; there was no significant difference over any timeframe for genotype C. High positive predictive values for long-term virological response could be obtained by applying end-of-treatment genotype-specific cut-offs: 75%, 47%, 71%, and 75% for genotypes A (<400IU/ml), B (<50IU/ml), C (<75IU/ml), and D (<1000IU/ml), respectively., Conclusions: On-treatment HBsAg kinetics vary between HBV genotypes. Genotype-specific monitoring timeframes and end-of-treatment thresholds could ameliorate response-guided treatment of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B., (Copyright © 2013 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Treatment with peginterferon α-2a (PegIFN) for 48 weeks is the standard of care for selected HBeAg-negative patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), but with limited treatment efficacy. A study was undertaken to investigate whether treatment extension to 96 weeks improves the outcome in this patient population., Methods: 128 HBeAg-negative patients (120 genotype D) were randomised to weekly 180 μg PegIFN for 48 weeks (group A, n=51), 180 μg PegIFN for 48 weeks followed by 135 μg weekly for an additional 48 weeks (group B, n=52) or 180 μg PegIFN plus lamivudine (100 mg/day) for 48 weeks then 135 μg PegIFN for 48 weeks (group C, n=25). Endpoints were alanine aminotransferase normalisation plus HBV DNA <3400 IU/ml (primary), HBV DNA <2000 IU/ml and HBsAg clearance at 48 weeks after treatment., Results: Forty-eight weeks after treatment, six patients in group A and 13 in group B achieved alanine aminotransferase normalisation plus HBV DNA <3400 IU/ml (11.8% vs 25.0%, p=0.08), 6 vs 15 patients had HBV DNA <2000 IU/ml (11.8% vs 28.8%, p=0.03), 0 vs 3 achieved HBsAg clearance (0% vs 5.8%, p=0.24) and 0 vs 5 had HBsAg <10 IU/ml (0% vs 9.6%, p=0.06). While extended PegIFN treatment was the strongest independent predictor of response, the combination with lamivudine did not improve responses. Discontinuation rates were similar among the groups (19.6%, 23.1%, 32.0%, p=0.81) and were mostly due to PegIFN-related adverse events., Conclusions: In HBeAg-negative genotype D patients with chronic hepatitis B, PegIFN treatment for 96 weeks was well tolerated and the post-treatment virological response improved significantly compared with 48 weeks of treatment., Trial Registration Number: http://ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT01095835.

Background: Pregnant women who travel to malarious areas and their clinicians need data on the safety of malaria chemoprophylaxis., Methods: The effect of exposure to mefloquine on pregnancy and offspring outcomes was evaluated using the F. Hoffmann-La Roche global drug safety database for the time frame 31 January 1986 through 26 October 2010. We investigated pregnancy and fetal outcomes in maternal, paternal, and both-parent exposure cases with a focus on congenital malformations and fetal loss. The main outcome measures were birth defect prevalence and types of malformations., Results: A total of 2506 cases of mefloquine exposure during pregnancy or in the pre- and periconception period were evaluated. Most cases were maternal prospective (outcome of the pregnancy unknown at the time of reporting; n = 2246 [89.6%]) followed by maternal retrospective cases (outcome of the pregnancy known at the time of reporting; n = 227 [9.0%]), with small numbers of paternal and both-parent exposure cases. Of the total 2246 mefloquine maternal prospective exposures (95.2%), 2139 occurred before conception and/or during the first trimester. Of 1383 maternal prospective cases with known outcome, 978 (70.7%) resulted in delivery, 405 (29.3%) resulted in abortion (112 spontaneous, 293 therapeutic), and 43 resulted in birth defects, corresponding to a birth defect prevalence of 4.39% (43 of 978). Prospective cases overall showed no specific pattern of birth malformations., Conclusions: The drug safety database analysis of mefloquine exposure in pregnancy showed that the birth defect prevalence and fetal loss in maternal, prospectively monitored cases were comparable to background rates.

Background & Aims: It was recently demonstrated that none of the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients without any serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) decline and with <2log hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA decline at week 12 of a 48-week peginterferon alfa-2a (PEG-IFN) treatment course achieved a sustained response (SR). We aimed at validating this stopping rule in two independent trials., Methods: HBeAg-negative patients receiving 48 or 96 weeks of PEG-IFN in the phase III registration trial (N=85) and PegBeLiver study (N=75) were stratified according to the presence of any HBsAg decline and/or 2log HBV DNA decline at week 12. SR was defined as HBV DNA <2000IU/ml and normal alanine aminotransferase 24 weeks after treatment., Results: The original PARC trial included 102 patients (genotype A/D/other: 14/81/7), 25 (25%) had an SR. The validation dataset consisted of 160 patients (genotype A/B/C/D/other: 10/18/34/91/7), 57 (36%) achieved an SR. The stopping rule performed well across the two studies (p=0.001) and its negative predictive value [NPV] was 95% in the validation dataset harbouring genotypes A-D. Its performance was best for genotype D. Moreover, among the 34 patients treated for 96 weeks, none of the 7 (21%) without HBsAg decline and with <2log HBV DNA decline at week 12 achieved an SR (NPV 100%)., Conclusions: We confirmed in two independent studies that the combination of HBsAg and HBV DNA levels at week 12 identifies HBeAg-negative patients with a very low chance of SR to either 48 or 96 weeks of PEG-IFN therapy., (Copyright © 2012 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Use of anti-malarial medication in children is hampered by a paucity of dosage, pharmacokinetic and tolerability data., Methods: Data on the use of mefloquine in children, particularly in young children weighing less than 20 kg, were reviewed using PubMed literature and reports on file., Results: Chemoprophylaxis data: Two studies with a total of 170 children were found. A simulated mefloquine plasma profile showed that doses to achieve protective chemoprophylaxis blood concentration of mefloquine of approximately 620 ng/mL (or 1.67 μmol/L) in children should be at least 5 mg/kg. This simulated plasma profile in children corresponds to that seen in adult travellers using a weekly prophylaxis dose of 250 mg. This reinforces current practice of using weight-based dosage for children. Clearance per body weight is higher in older children. For children who travel to malaria risk areas tablets can be broken and crushed as required. It is necessary to disguise the bitter taste of the drug. Treatment data: Mefloquine treatment (alone or in combination) data are available for more than 6000 children of all age and weight categories. The stereoselectivity and pharmacokinetic profile of mefloquine in children is similar to that observed in adults. There is higher clearance in older children (aged 5-12 years) compared to younger children (aged 6-24 months). Mefloquine treatment is well tolerated in infants (5-12 kg) but vomiting is a problem at high doses. This led to the use of a "split dose" regimen with 15 mg/kg initially, followed 12 hours later by 10 mg/kg. Mefloquine 125 mg has been used as intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) and was found to be efficacious in reducing episodes of malaria in a moderate-transmission setting but vomiting was a problem in 8% of children aged 2-11 months. Mefloquine is also used as a component of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) in small children. The combination artesunate plus mefloquine is a WHO approved first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in Africa., Conclusion: Currently available data provide a scientific basis for the use of mefloquine in small children in the chemoprophylaxis setting and as a part of treatment regimens for children living in endemic areas.

Background: Malaria chemoprophylaxis prevents the occurrence of the symptoms of malaria. Travellers to high-risk Plasmodium falciparum endemic areas need an effective chemoprophylaxis., Methods: A literature search to update the status of mefloquine as a malaria chemoprophylaxis., Results: Except for clearly defined regions with multi-drug resistance, mefloquine is effective against the blood stages of all human malaria species, including the recently recognized fifth species, Plasmodium knowlesi. New data were found in the literature on the tolerability of mefloquine and the use of this medication by groups at high risk of malaria., Discussion: Use of mefloquine for pregnant women in the second and third trimester is sanctioned by the WHO and some authorities (CDC) allow the use of mefloquine even in the first trimester. Inadvertent pregnancy while using mefloquine is not considered grounds for pregnancy termination. Mefloquine chemoprophylaxis is allowed during breast-feeding. Studies show that mefloquine is a good option for other high-risk groups, such as long-term travellers, VFR travellers and families with small children. Despite a negative media perception, large pharmaco-epidemiological studies have shown that serious adverse events are rare. A recent US evaluation of serious events (hospitalization data) found no association between mefloquine prescriptions and serious adverse events across a wide range of outcomes including mental disorders and diseases of the nervous system. As part of an in-depth analysis of mefloquine tolerability, a potential trend for increased propensity for neuropsychiatric adverse events in women was identified in a number of published clinical studies. This trend is corroborated by several cohort studies that identified female sex and low body weight as risk factors., Conclusion: The choice of anti-malarial drug should be an evidence-based decision that considers the profile of the individual traveller and the risk of malaria. Mefloquine is an important, first-line anti-malarial drug but it is crucial for prescribers to screen medical histories and inform mefloquine users of potential adverse events. Careful prescribing and observance of contraindications are essential. For some indications, there is currently no replacement for mefloquine available or in the pipeline.

Aims: This study was aimed at determining the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Romania and the possible risk factors and modality of HCV transmission., Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey among the adult population was conducted between 2006-2008 in Romania through a population multicenter stratified random cluster sampling. Serum samples from 13,460 subjects were tested with a 3rd generation ELISA and a standardized questionnaire concerning the socio-demographic characteristics and potential risk factors was used., Results: The prevalence rate of HCV infection in Romanian adult population was 3.23% with significant differences between the main geographical regions (Moldavia 4.25%, Wallachia & Dobrogea 3.35% and Transylvania & Banat 2.63%), as well as between different counties (maximum 7.19%, minimum 0.56%). Overall participation rate to the survey of the selected subjects was 74.69%. Risk factors for HCV infection were: blood/blood products transfusions (p=0.0001), previous surgery (elective and emergency, p=0.0001 and p=0.043, respectively), frequent hospitalizations (p=0.0001), injections at home (p=0.0001), accidents/trauma (p=0.0001), occupational hazard related to blood exposure (p=0.025), intravenous drug administration (p=0.002), a partner chronically infected with HCV/hepatitis B virus (HBV) (p=0.046), first sexual intercourse <18 years (p=0.019), familial exposure to HCV/HBV infection (p=0.001) or to chronic HBV/HCV liver disease (p=0.001), personal history of chronic HBV infection (p=0.001). HCV RNA positivity was detected in 91% of the anti HCV positive subjects., Conclusions: Overall HCV prevalence in Romania is 3.23%. Both nosocomial and non-nosocomial routes are implicated as risk factors for HCV infection.