http://ipsapp003.lwwonline.com/content/getfile/3183/16/10/abstract.htm
Hepatitis B surface antibody titers were routinely measured in 150 children with sickle cell disease (SCD) after immunization, and the seroconversion rate was found to be lower than that in the general population (89% vs. 97%, P = 0.002). Most of the children who did not seroconvert after the series of 3 immunizations responded to booster injections (93%). Therefore, we recommend the measurement of hepatitis B surface antibody titers after immunization in those children with SCD at greatest risk for hepatitis B infection. An additional dose of hepatitis B vaccine should be administered to those without evidence of seroconversion.
Submitted for publication November 1, 2001;
accepted December 10, 2001.
From the Departments of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Akron, Ohio (J.H.); Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (B.W.); Medical Oncology, Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, Delaware (M.K.); Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (J.B.); Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (J.J.); and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (J.M.).
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Jeffrey D. Hord, M.D., Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, One Perkins Square, Akron, OH 44308. E-mail: jhord@ chmca.org.
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