Considerable decrease in antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen following kidney transplantation

Abstract Background Immunization against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in kidney transplantation (KT) candidates and recipients is recommended. If anti-HBV surface antigen antibody (anti-HBsAb) titer of 10 IU/L is admitted to be protective, the optimal threshold, at and after KT, is unknown. In addition, the natural evolution of anti-HBsAb titers after KT is not reported. Objectives To describe rates of protective immunity to HBV at time of KT (baseline) and evolution of anti-HBsAb titers during the following year. Study design We retrospectively analyzed HBV serology at baseline, 15 days, and 4 and 12 months post-KT. No patient received vaccination during the study period, but information about previous vaccination was unavailable. Results At baseline 80% of 141 recipients had anti-HBsAb titer ≥10 IU/L. Among these 113 patients, 84 had subsequent HBV serologies at day 15 and month 4, and 67 had also serology at month 12. At month 12, 25% of patients had lost protective anti-HBsAb titers ( p p p Conclusions Despite a high prevalence of protective anti-HBsAb titer at KT, the loss of protective immunity during the following year was considerable, particularly when initial anti-HBsAb titer was