False positive Hepatitis B Surface Antigen due to recent vaccination

Hepatitis B is the most common viral hepatitis, potentially life threatening, with long term complications. Currently, vaccine is the most effective tool against hepatitis B infection. It is worthwhile mentioning that due to rampant use of hepatitis B vaccine (HBV), there have been concerns about hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) reactivity. This article aims to report the false positive results of HBsAg due to recent HBV among healthy male adults.

The subjects were selected from a Community Health Center, under the umbrella of a tertiary care hospital, Saudi Arabia. The data was retrieved from electronic medical records maintained at the clinic.

A total of 130 employees were recruited, only 117 records could be retrieved from the system. The mean age of participants was 31.34 ± 12.73 years. The administration of HBV and HBsAg test was performed simultaneously. The lab reported three cases of HBsAg positivity, a false positive result of 2.56%. Repeat testing after one week for HBsAg was negative for the three cases.

This study confirmed that HBsAg reactivity might be seen in regular screening programs for healthy adults.