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The following is a summary of “High Rate of Seroprotection With Heplisav-B in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” published in the November 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Hegde et al.
People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who are treated with immunosuppressive therapies are at higher risk for infections, including hepatitis B (HepB).
Researchers conducted a prospective study to assess how well Heplisav-B works in helping people with IBD develop immunity against HepB.
They involved adults who had IBD and were not protected from HepB. Participants received the 2-dose Heplisav-B series and had HepB surface antibody (anti-HBs) testing after vaccination. People were protected if their anti-HBs level was ≥10 IU/mL.
The results showed that 72% of people achieved seroprotection, with a median anti-HBs level of 48.7 IU/mL, and 33% (28 people) had an anti-HBs level greater than 100 IU/mL. People taking immunosuppressive therapy [49 (58%) people, 18 nonresponders, OR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.12-0.99] and those who didn’t respond to the initial HepB vaccine series [22 (26%) people, 11 nonresponders, OR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.09-0.73] were less likely to achieve seroprotection. Additionally, 7 people who didn’t respond to the initial doses received a third dose, and 2 achieved seroprotection.
They concluded that Heplisav-B was more effective than the 3-dose recombinant HepB vaccine in helping people with IBD achieve seroprotection.
Source:journals.lww.com/jcge/fulltext/9900/high_rate_of_seroprotection_with_heplisav_b_in.376.aspx
