TY - JOUR
T1 - Hepatitis B vaccination
T2 - Long-term follow-up of the immune response of preterm infants and comparison of two vaccination protocols
AU - Linder, N.
AU - Vishne, T. H.
AU - Levin, E.
AU - Handsher, R.
AU - Fink-Kremer, I.
AU - Waldman, D.
AU - Levine, A.
AU - Ashkenazi, S.
AU - Sirota, L.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Background: We conducted a 3-year follow-up study of long-term antibody persistence following vaccination of low-risk preterm infants with recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (HBV). Two three-dose protocols were compared: vaccination beginning within 24 h of birth to initial vaccination delayed until a weight of 2,000 g was reached. Subjects and Methods: The study population included 136 children, divided into three groups: children born prematurely (≤ 35 weeks, n = 57), children born at term (≥ 37 weeks, n = 39), both groups receiving the first dose of HBV within 24 h of birth, and children born prematurely (≤ 35 weeks, n = 40), who received the first dose of HBV when a weight of 2,000 g was reached. All infants received the second hepatitis vaccination 1 month after the first, and the third dose 6 months after the first. Hepatitis B surface antibody (AntiHBs) was measured at an age of 3-3.5 years (at least 2.5 years after completion of the three-dose HBV series). An AntiHBs level of ≥ 10 IU/l was considered positive. Results: At 3-3.5 years of age, a higher percentage of the premature-delayed vaccination group had a positive AntiHBs level (92.5%) compared to both the premature (54.4%, p < 0.001) and full-term groups (71.8%, p < 0.05) vaccinated soon after birth. The premature-delayed vaccination group also had a significantly higher geometric mean concentration (GMC) (119 vs 14.2 IU/l, p < 0.001 and 119 vs 32.7 IU/l, p < 0.005, respectively). Conclusion: Delaying vaccination of premature infants against hepatitis B until a weight of 2,000 g was reached resulted in both a significantly higher percentage of children with positive antibody levels and a significantly higher GMC at 3-3.5 years of age as compared to early-vaccinated preterm and full-term infants. The known short-term advantage of delayed vaccination of preterm infants was shown to persist for at least the first 3 years of life.
AB - Background: We conducted a 3-year follow-up study of long-term antibody persistence following vaccination of low-risk preterm infants with recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (HBV). Two three-dose protocols were compared: vaccination beginning within 24 h of birth to initial vaccination delayed until a weight of 2,000 g was reached. Subjects and Methods: The study population included 136 children, divided into three groups: children born prematurely (≤ 35 weeks, n = 57), children born at term (≥ 37 weeks, n = 39), both groups receiving the first dose of HBV within 24 h of birth, and children born prematurely (≤ 35 weeks, n = 40), who received the first dose of HBV when a weight of 2,000 g was reached. All infants received the second hepatitis vaccination 1 month after the first, and the third dose 6 months after the first. Hepatitis B surface antibody (AntiHBs) was measured at an age of 3-3.5 years (at least 2.5 years after completion of the three-dose HBV series). An AntiHBs level of ≥ 10 IU/l was considered positive. Results: At 3-3.5 years of age, a higher percentage of the premature-delayed vaccination group had a positive AntiHBs level (92.5%) compared to both the premature (54.4%, p < 0.001) and full-term groups (71.8%, p < 0.05) vaccinated soon after birth. The premature-delayed vaccination group also had a significantly higher geometric mean concentration (GMC) (119 vs 14.2 IU/l, p < 0.001 and 119 vs 32.7 IU/l, p < 0.005, respectively). Conclusion: Delaying vaccination of premature infants against hepatitis B until a weight of 2,000 g was reached resulted in both a significantly higher percentage of children with positive antibody levels and a significantly higher GMC at 3-3.5 years of age as compared to early-vaccinated preterm and full-term infants. The known short-term advantage of delayed vaccination of preterm infants was shown to persist for at least the first 3 years of life.
KW - Antibody decay
KW - Hepatitis B immunization
KW - Preterm
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035990009&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s15010-002-2068-3
DO - 10.1007/s15010-002-2068-3
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C2 - 12120937
AN - SCOPUS:0035990009
SN - 0300-8126
VL - 30
SP - 136
EP - 139
JO - Infection
JF - Infection
IS - 3
ER -