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Background: With respect to the importance of hepatitis B vaccination of high-risk groups such as prisoners, this study was performed to assess the comparability of a short-course double-dose vaccination schedule with the standard 3-dose schedule.
Methods : Within a randomized clinical trial, a short-course vaccination (at months 0 and 1) with 20 microgram (double-dose) doses of the vaccine was compared to the standard method of hepatitis B vaccination (at months 0, 1 and 6, with 10-microgram doses) in 100 prisoners in Zahedan city in Iran in 2009. We made sure the sera from all the individuals were negative for markers of previous hepatitis B infection. Subsequently serum from all the participants was tested for anti-HBs antibody 1, 2 and 7 months after the first dose of vaccination.
Results : Seroconversion rates (HBsAb>10 mIU/ml) 1, 2 and 7 months after the first dose of vaccination were similar in the routine (11%, 79% and 94%, respectively) relative to the double-dose group (26%, 95% and 93 %, respectively). The mean values of anti-HBs antibody titers were similar in the 1st and 2nd months for the two groups but it was significantly higher (P=0.002) in the routine dose (514 mIU/ml) versus the double-dose group (130 mIU/mL), in the 7th month.
Conclusion: Demonstrating comparable results with the standard 3-dose schedule, it seems that short-term double-dose vaccination for hepatitis B is a safe and acceptable method for use in high-risk groups such as prisoners.