Vaccines (Jul 2024)

Hepatitis B Reactivation and Vaccination Effectiveness after Solid Organ Transplantation: A Matched Case-Control Study

  • Yongseop Lee,
  • Jaeeun Seong,
  • Sangmin Ahn,
  • Min Han,
  • Jung Ah Lee,
  • Jung Ho Kim,
  • Jin Young Ahn,
  • Nam Su Ku,
  • Jun Yong Choi,
  • Joon-Sup Yeom,
  • Beom Kyung Kim,
  • Su Jin Jeong

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12070804
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 7
p. 804

Abstract

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Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at significant risk of hepatitis B (HB) virus (HBV) reactivation (HBVr). Despite the clinical significance of HBVr after solid organ transplantation, data on the risk factors for HBVr and vaccine effectiveness in SOT recipients with resolved HBV infection are limited. This study evaluated the risk factors for HBVr and the seroconversion rates after HBV vaccination in SOT recipients. Patients who had undergone solid organ transplantation and those with a resolved HBV infection were identified. We matched patients who experienced post-transplantation HBVr with those who did not. We also explored the characteristics and seroconversion rates of HBV-vaccinated patients following transplantation. In total, 1299 SOT recipients were identified as having a resolved HBV infection at the time of transplantation. Thirty-nine patients experienced HBVr. Pre-transplant HB surface antibodies (anti-HBs) positivity and allograft rejection within 3 months after transplantation were independently associated with HBVr. Among the 17 HBV-vaccinated patients, 14 (82.4%) received three or fewer vaccine doses, and 13 (76.5%) had seroconversion with positive anti-HBs results. Pre-transplant anti-HBs(−) status and allograft rejection were risk factors for HBVr in SOT recipients with a resolved HBV infection, and HBV vaccination after transplantation resulted in a high rate of anti-HBs seroconversion. HBV vaccination after transplantation should be considered to reduce the HBVr risk.

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