An investigation of the efficacy on hepatitis B vaccination in hemodialysis patients in Ardabil, Iran

Introduction: hemodialysis patients usually demonstrate lower immune response to hepatitisb vaccine compared to non-uremic population.objectives: the present study aimed to determine the level of response to hepatitis bvaccination in patients under hemodialysis.patients and methods: this study was conducted on 172 live patients receiving hemodialysisin the dialysis department of buali hospital in ardabil, iran (2015). to analyze their responseto the vaccine, their vaccination titers were investigated. before vaccination, the serologicalmarkers of hepatitis b and c were checked in all of the patients. those for whom hbsag andhbsab results were negative and had not received the vaccinein the past entered the study.the patients received a double dose of hepatitis b vaccine at 0, 1, and 6 months after thebeginning of dialysis. the response to the vaccine was investigated by measuring the level ofpatients’ hepatitis b antibody one month after receiving the last dose of the vaccine.results: seventy patients (40% of the total) displayed a proper immune response to thevaccine, 34 patients (19.8%) were without, and 68 patients (39.5%) were identified to have poorresponse. the results of pearson’s correlation test indicated that there is a negative correlationbetween the patients’ age and their response to the vaccine.conclusion: the results of this study indicated that higher age is one of the factors that reducethe effectiveness of hepatitis b vaccine in hemodialysis patients.