Hemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease produce inferior immune responses to hepatitis B vaccine, with 41% of dialysis patients classified as nonresponders, results of a recent study revealed.
Researchers evaluated 83 patients undergoing treatment at two hemodialysis clinics in southeastern Brazil in 2009 and 2010. The patients were initiating hemodialysis treatment 30 days after completing a HBV vaccination schedule. The vaccines administered utilized recombinant DNA technology from GlaxoSmithKline (Engerix-B) or by the Butantan Institute of São Paulo. Vaccines were given in double doses of 40 mg each based on the recommendations of the National Immunization Program. The dialysis patients were stratified by age, etiology of renal disease (primary cause of disease), smoking status and the presence or absence of comorbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension or autoimmune disease. Blood was taken every 2 months for 1 year to test for antibody titers. Testing began 1 month after completion of the vaccination schedule.
Labels: CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease), HBV vaccine response