Factors Affecting Response to Hepatitis B Vaccine among Hemodialysis Patients in a Large Saudi Hemodialysis Center

The aim of this study is to determine the response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in patients on hemodialysis (HD) and to identify the factors that could affect this response. This retrospective study was carried out during the period from January 2009 to December 2009 in the Prince Salman Center for Kidney Diseases (PSCKD), Riyadh, and included 144 patients (78 males and 66 females) on regular HD, all of whom received hepatitis B vaccination. Patients were divided into two groups according to the level of hepatitis B surface antibodies (HBsAb): Responders group (> 10 IU/L) and non-responders group (< 10 IU/L). The study looked at the factors that may affect the responsiveness to hepatitis B vaccination, like gender, age, co-existence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, dialysis adequacy that was evaluated by urea reduction ratio (URR) and Kt/V, hemoglobin level, albumin level, protein catabolic rate (PCR), body mass index (BMI), subjective global nutritional status (SGA) and HbA1c. There were 129 patients (89.6%) in the responders group including 69 males and 60 females and 15 patients (10.4%) in the non-responders group including nine males and six females. The mean age in the responders group and the non-responders group was 50.56 +/- 15.35 and 56.87 +/- 12.52 years, respectively (P = 0.128). The mean value of the PCR was 1.03 +/- 0.17 and 0.88 +/-therefore 0.17 g/kg/day in the responders group and non-responders group, respectively (P = 0.002). There was no statically significant difference between the two groups regarding the presence or absence of HCV infection, age, gender, diabetes mellitus, URR, Kt/V, hemoglobin level and albumin level. We report a high response rate (89%) for HBV vaccination in our HD patients. The PCR was the only factor that affected the response to HBV vaccination in these patients.