Effectiveness Analysis of the Immunization Against Hepatitis B in Liver Transplantation Patients

Abstract

ObjectiveThis article analyzes the effectiveness of a super-accelerated immunization schedule against hepatitis B in patients who have received a liver transplantation. MethodsThis is a quantitative and retrospective study based on secondary data of medical records from 177 patients who have received a liver transplantation at the Hospital de Base in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil, between 1998 and 2016. ResultsFrom the total number of participants, 72.89% were male, 39.55% had a cirrhosis diagnosis with associated causes, 23.16% had hepatocellular carcinoma, 53.11% were classified according to Child-Turcotte-Pugh C score, 58.76% had the hepatitis C virus, 97.18% had received an unconventional immunization schedule, and seroconversion was 36.63% among those with an unconventional schedule. The fact that the patient had the hepatitis C virus was statistically significant considering the lack of protection of the vaccine against the hepatitis B virus; their chances were 5 times higher of not seroconverting at the end of the immunization schedule. ConclusionThe need for high immediate protection in a short term may justify using unconventional immunization schedules in patients who make it to the transplantation waiting list without any previous immunization.