title: Prenatal screening for hepatitis B surface antigen. Is universal screening necessary?
abstract: Prenatal screening for hepatitis B is now recommended as a universal practice in Canada. This study questions whether that policy should apply outside large urban centres. We studied women delivering babies at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ont. Of 1216 women, results of HBsAg screening were available for 716; only two women, both from a high-risk group, were HBsAg positive. If selective screening is used, physicians must question patients carefully to ensure that women at risk are identified and tested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sabetti
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens