A long-term follow-up of hepatitis B vaccination in patients with congenital clotting disorders.
All patients with congenital clotting disorders attending our centre routinely receive hepatitis B vaccination. We have assessed retrospectively the vaccine responses in 167 such individuals, with a follow-up period of up to 7.5 years. The initial postvaccine anti-HBs response was lower in older patients (p = 0.001), those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (p = 0.05), and those who received intradermal rather than subcutaneous administration of vaccine (p = 0.08). It was estimated that the median time for anti-HBs levels to fall to 100 IU l-1 was between 36 and 42 months, with a shorter period for older or HIV-infected patients. Although the persistence of protective antibody levels can be predicted to some extent from the absolute levels of initial postvaccine anti-HBs, the wide variation in antibody decline between individuals precludes recommendation of the timing of vaccine booster doses solely based on this value.
Pillay
D
D
Division of Communicable Diseases, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, UK.
Pereira
C
C
Sabin
C
C
Powell
L
L
Zuckerman
A J
AJ
Lee
C A
CA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001778:Blood Coagulation Disorders / Q000151:congenital* / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines