Abstract: Objective To investigate the relapse and its influencing factors in patients with chronic hepatitis B （CHB） after recombinant interferon-alpha （rIFN-α） treatment during 5 years of followed-up. Methods 186 CHB patients with complete response after rIFN-α treatment were followed-up for 5 years,and the relapse rate was observed and the possible factors influencing relapse were analyzed. Results Out of 186 patients,sustained virologic response was obtained in 119 cases （64.0%）,and the relapse occurred in 67 cases （36.0%）;Recurrence of illness occurred from the first 2 months to 47 months after stopping antiviral treatment,and 43 cases（23.1%） got relapse in the first year,while no relapse case in the fifth year;With the followed-up period prolonged,the recurrence rate reduced year by year,and the cumulative recurrence rate increased year by year. The recurrence rates of second, third and fourth year were 9.1%,6.2% and 2.5%,respectively,without statistically significant difference among them（P>0.05）. The relapse rate of patients younger than 40 years was 31.1%,much lower than 48.2% in patients older than 40 years（P<0.05）. The relapse rate in patients receiving IFN-α of 6 month course was 52.5%,much higher than 34.4% in receiving IFN-α of one year course（P<0.05） or 26.0% in receiving IFN-α of 18 month course（P<0.01）. The relapse rates in patients with underlying HBV DNA≤1×10⁶copies/ml was 26.5%,much lower than 41.5% in with HBV DNA>1×10⁶ copies/ml （P<0.05）. The relapse was not related to patient's gender,IFN-α doses and pretreatment serum ALT level（P>0.05）. Conclusion The relapse rate of CHB patients with complete response after IFN-α treatment as higher in the first year after discontinuation of the regimen,and the patient's age,treatment course and pretreatment HBV DNA levels are the influencing factors of relapse,but not the patient's gender,IFN-α doses and ALT level before treatment.

Key words: Chronic hepatitis B, Interferon-alpha, Complete response, Relapse, Influencing factor