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Increase of Hepatitis B Surface Antibody Levels After Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine in Hemodialysis Patients: An
Fatemeh Yaghoubi1, Davood Dalil2, Saeid Iranzadeh2
1Department of Internal Medicine, Shariati Hospital, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
The third dose of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine (SphV3) significantly boosted hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) levels in hemodialysis patients. This finding impacts vaccination strategies for immunocompromised individuals.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
- Nephrology
Background:
- Immunocompromised patients, including hemodialysis (HD) patients, require careful consideration regarding COVID-19 vaccine efficacy.
- The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on humoral immunity against other pathogens, like Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), is crucial for this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effect of the third dose of the Sinopharm vaccine (SphV3) on hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) levels in hemodialysis patients.
- To analyze differences in anti-HBs titers before and after SphV3 administration in this cohort.
Main Methods:
- A single-center observational study conducted at Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran (February 2021–March 2022).
- Included 25 hemodialysis patients who received three doses of the Sinopharm vaccine over 8 months.
- Anti-HBs levels were measured 3 months before (anti-HBs-B3) and 3 months after (anti-HBs-A3) the third vaccine dose.
Main Results:
- Overall, anti-HBs-A3 levels were significantly higher than anti-HBs-B3 (p=0.001).
- Patients with a history of kidney transplant or COVID-19 showed significant differences in anti-HBs levels before and after SphV3 (p=0.002 and p=0.003, respectively).
- No significant changes in anti-HBs levels were observed in patients with diabetes or ischemic heart disease.
Conclusions:
- The inactivated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine may influence the humoral immune response to Hepatitis B in hemodialysis patients.
- Findings suggest potential implications for vaccination protocols in immunocompromised individuals, including HD patients and transplant recipients.
Background:
The effects of COVID-19 vaccines on immunocompromised people such as hemodialysis (HD) patients are an important topic that should be addressed. This study reports an observation of the effect of the third dose of the Sinopharm vaccine (SphV3) on the level of hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) in HD patients, and the differences between anti-HBs titers before and after SphV3 were analytically evaluated.
Methods:
This single-center observational study involved all HD patients presented to Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from February 2021 to March 2022. All patients received three doses of the Sinopharm vaccine over 8 months. The anti-HBs level is measured every 6 months as the routine evaluation against HBV infection for all HD patients. Three months before (anti-HBs-B3) and 3 months after (anti-HBs-A3) SphV3 were the routine times to measure the anti-HBs titer during this study.
Results:
Twenty-five HD patients were enrolled. Overall, the anti-HBs-A3 was significantly higher than anti-HBs-B3 (p = 0.001). The anti-HBs levels before and after SphV3 were not statistically remarkable in patients with diabetes and ischemic heart disease. The patients with a history of kidney transplant and those with a history of COVID-19 had significant differences between anti-HBs-B3 and anti-HBs-A3 (p = 0.002, p = 0.003, respectively).
Conclusion:
Our findings revealed that inactivated COVID-19 vaccine may be involved in the humoral immune response to hepatitis B in HD patients. It may be novel and have significant implications for the vaccination protocol for immunocompromised patients, including those undergoing HD and transplant recipients.
