Abstract: AIM: To investigate the clinical character of patients who had achieved complete or partial response relapsed after withdrawal with lamivudine therapy. METHODS: 160 patients with complete response and 35 patients with partial response continue to be monitored after withdrawal with lamivudine therapy.The liver function was checked once a month, the levels of HBV DNA, HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe and anti-HBc were tested once every 3 months. And detailed record of the condition and re-treatment outcomes. RESULTS: The relapse rates of HBV-DNA were 30.6% in the complete response group and 85.7% in the partial response group. The difference was statistically significant (χ²=36.164, P<0.001). ALT recurrence rate were 28.75% (46/160) and 82.9% (29/35), the difference was statistically significant (χ²=32.645, P<0.001). In 6 months after withdrawal, the relapse rates of the patients were 80% in the complete response group and 53.1% in the partial response group. With a long course, the recurrence rate was relatively low. The relapsed patients who had achieved complete response were mild. Lamivudine withdrawal with the long-term follow-up, timely treatment, prognosis was good. CONCLUSION: The relapse rate of the patients who had achieved complete response is lower. The state of illness is better in the patients who had achieved complete response, whereas, the treatment of the patients who had achieved partial response with lamivudine should not be discontinue.

Key words: Lamivudine, Relapse case, Clinical character, Chronic hepatitis B