Heptavax-B in pediatric dialysis patients: effect of systemic lupus erythematosus

Twenty-three pediatric dialysis patients 16 hemodialysis (HD) and 17 peritoneal dialysis (PD)], with a mean age of 13.9 years, were vaccinated against hepatitis B virus and their seroconversion rates were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the mean duration of dialysis between the HD and PD groups, or between responders and nonresponders to the vaccine. In the HD group, there was a response rate of 83.3% while the PD patients had a response rate of 88.2%. The only patients failing to seroconvert after the three vaccine series all had systemic lupus erythematosus and were taking oral corticosteroids.