96
Views
6
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Low Rates of Hepatitis A and B Vaccination in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C at an Urban Methadone Maintenance Program

, &
Pages 461-465 | Published online: 05 Oct 2010
 

ABSTRACT

Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) are at increased risk for complications of liver disease if they become infected with the hepatitis A (HAV) or hepatitis B (HBV) viruses. The authors examined the rates of testing for HAV, HBV, and HCV, as well as rates of vaccination against HAV and HBV in patients with chronic HCV in a random sample (N = 207) of medical records of patients enrolled in a methadone maintenance program. Almost all patients reviewed were tested for HAV, HBV, and HCV. Of the 111 patients with chronic HCV, 53 (48.6%) and 68 (63%) lacked immunity to HAV and HBV, respectively. Of those lacking immunity, 29 (54.7%) and 2 (2.9%) were vaccinated for HAV and HBV, respectively. Despite high rates of testing for HAV, HBV, and HCV at a methadone maintenance program, approximately half of those with chronic HCV eligible for the HAV vaccine received it, and few of those eligible for HBV vaccine received it.

For D. A. Fishbein, this project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under contract HHSN261200800001E. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This research was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. For D. A. Fishbein, this manuscript research was previously funded by NIDA K23 DA18623. The authors would like to thank the providers and staff of the Narcotics Rehabilitation Center for their cooperation with this research.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.