title: Seroconversion after additional vaccine doses to non-responders to three doses of intradermally or intramuscularly administered recombinant hepatitis B vaccine.
abstract: Hospital staff members who failed to respond (anti-HBs < 10 IU/l) after 3 doses of a recombinant hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine (given either as 20 micrograms intramuscularly (n = 8) or 2 micrograms intradermally (n = 15)) received 1 or 2 additional doses by the same route as the initial vaccination. After the first additional dose, 12/23 responded with anti-HBs levels > or = 10 IU/l and after the second, another 2/5 responded, corresponding to a total response rate of 61%. No significant difference was seen in the response rate according to vaccination route, gender, age, or whether the vaccinee was a smoker or not. In this limited study some 50% of non-responders to 3 intradermal or intramuscular doses of recombinant HBV vaccine seroconverted after an additional 1-2 doses given by the same route as the initial vaccination, suggesting that additional doses can be administered by the same route as the initial one.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Struve
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aronsson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frenning
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Forsgren
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Weiland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007271:Injections, Intradermal; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D008875:Middle Aged; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic