Nucleoside analogue (HBV)
Entecavir
Brand names: Baraclude
Adult dose
Dose: 0.5mg OD (treatment-naïve); 1mg OD (lamivudine-resistant or decompensated cirrhosis)
Route: Oral
Frequency: OD on empty stomach
Clinical pearls
- EASL HBV first-line: entecavir, tenofovir disoproxil or tenofovir alafenamide
- NICE TA153/TA173 — chronic HBV
- Take on empty stomach (≥2h before/after food)
- Avoid abrupt withdrawal — flare risk
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity
Side effects
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Lactic acidosis
- Hepatic flare on discontinuation
- Renal impairment (rare)
Interactions
- Renally cleared drugs (potential)
Monitoring
- LFTs
- HBV DNA
- Renal function
- HCC surveillance per EASL
Reference: BNF; EASL HBV guidelines; NICE TA153/TA173; BHIVA hepatitis B guidelines; https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/entecavir/. Verify against your local formulary and the latest BNF before prescribing.
Related
Curated clinical cross-links plus same-class fallbacks.
Pathways
- Infective Endocarditis · ESC 2023 Infective Endocarditis Guidelines; NICE NG41
- Eczema Herpeticum · BAD; NICE CKS
- Suspected Bacterial Meningitis (Adult) · NICE NG240 (2024); NICE NG143 (paeds)
- Clostridioides difficile Colitis · NICE NG199 (2021); IDSA/SHEA 2021
- Returning Traveller — Fever · NaTHNaC; PHE; ESCMID 2018
- Malaria — Diagnosis & Management · PHE 2016; WHO 2023