Comparison of hepatitis B surface antibody decay rates after vaccination between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients

Abstract Background and objectives The available information about maintaining effective immunity after hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in dialysis patients is limited. The aim of this study was to determine whether a difference exists in the persistence of immunity between hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We compared the decay rate of hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) titers after HBV vaccination between HD and PD patients. Design, setting, participants, and measures A total of 103 HD and 53 PD patients who were completely vaccinated were enrolled. We examined their anti-HBs titers at the 1st month after vaccination then annually thereafter. Changes in the anti-HBs titers were assessed by comparing annual geometric mean titers (GMTs). Results The slopes of the anti-HBs titer decay rates plotted on a logarithmic scale for the HD and PD groups were −23.41 and −31.48, respectively. The decay rate of the PD group was significantly faster than that of the HD group ( P = 0.0053). Conclusion The decay rate of anti-HBs titers in the PD group was faster than that in the HD group. Hepatitis B vaccination could not offer long-term protection in HD or PD patients. Post-vaccination testing every 6–12 months is necessary and revaccination may be protective in dialysis patients, especially in hyper-endemic areas of hepatitis B infection.