Growth and development of children prenatally exposed to telbivudine administered for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in their mothers.

Objectives: We studied the growth and development of children prenatally exposed to telbivudine used to treat chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in their mothers.
Methods: Maternal abnormalities during pregnancy and delivery and infant congenital anomalies, physical development status, developmental quotient (DQ), HBV vertical transmission status, and HBV vaccination outcomes of 54 infants were evaluated (2010-2013).
Results: No fetal abnormalities were observed during pregnancy or delivery. Postpartum, three infants (5.56%) had abnormalities: ankyloglossia, cutaneous hemangioma, and vaginal canal leak. Height and weight were within the normal range at birth and at 6 weeks, but were higher than the reference at 12 months (p<0.05). Body mass index increased gradually with age (p<0.05). DQ scores were normal (84.81%, 229/270) in 37 children (68.52%), abnormal or suspicious for a developmental delay (15.19%, 41/270) in 17 children (31.48%), and indicated a developmental delay (4.07%, 11/270) in seven children (12.96%). There were no significant differences in developmental delay between children prenatally exposed to telbivudine and controls (p>0.05). HBV vertical transmission was successfully blocked in all infants. The effective HBV vaccination rate was 98.15% (53/54).
Conclusions: The growth and development of children prenatally exposed to telbivudine was normal, indicating that telbivudine treatment during pregnancy is safe and effective.
(Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)