Table 3 Published experience of patients with rheumatic disease and underlying HBV infection treated with biological agents.

Patient No	Reference	Diagnosis	Age/sex	Biological immunosuppressive therapy	Baseline serology	Treatment and outcome
1	6	AS	32/M	Infliximab 5 mg/kg IV × 3 (0, 2, 6 weeks)	HBsAg+ HBeAg:NR	Pre‐emptive LAM before infliximab × 1 year, well tolerated
2	7	RA	49/M	Infliximab 6mg/kg IV every 2 months, MTX 10 mg/week × 18 months, prednisone 8 mg/day	HBsAg+ HBeAg− Anti‐HBe+	Flare of HBV, infliximab and MTX stopped, treated successfully with LAM
3	5	AOSD	28/F	Infliximab 5 mg/kg IV × 2 (0, 2 weeks)	HBsAg+ HBeAg− Anti‐HBe+	Acute hepatitis with severe liver decompensation without evidence of HBV reactivation in serum or liver, successful liver transplantation
4	35	SpA	35/F	Infliximab 5 mg/kg IV ×3 (0, 2, 6 weeks) and then every 8 weeks for 4 months	HBsAg+ HBeAg−	HBV reactivation, successful treatment with LAM, restarted infliximab without incident
5	4	RA	58/F	Infliximab 3 mg/kg IV every 8 weeks then etanercept 25 mg SC twice weekly	HBsAg+ HBeAg− Anti‐HBe+	Previously flared while receiving MTX treatment; treated pre‐emptively with LAM; infliximab and etanercept well tolerated

AS, ankylosing spondylitis; M, male; IV, intravenously; NR, not reported; LAM, lamivudine; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; MTX, methotrexate; AOSD, adult onset Still's disease; F, female; SpA, spondyloarthropathy; SC, subcutaneously.