Are healthcare workers immunized after receiving hepatitis B vaccination according to recommended guidelines? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Objectives: Nowadays, it is believed that more than 240 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), associated with irreversible health-related consequences, represented by hepatic failure, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, and already are ranked as 15th cause of human death around the world.
Methods: A systematic review and a meta-analysis were performed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination and immunization on health professionals against the hepatitis B virus. The review was registered at the PROSPERO database (CRD42017075643). A search for cross-sectional studies was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, BBO, Cochrane Library, and in the grey literature. The EPHPP Modified Scale was used to evaluate the internal quality of the studies included.
Results: A total of 1865 articles were identified after the removal of duplicates. Of these, 790 studies remained after screening the titles and abstracts. Finally, ten studies remained after full-text reading for qualitative analysis, all of which were used in the meta-analysis. A significant difference was found in the vaccine protocol for health professionals immunized against hepatitis B, compared to those not immunized. The risk ratio was 7.37 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.92 to 13.83; p < 0.00001).
Conclusion: This study showed that the vaccine protocol is effective in immunizing health professionals against hepatitis B.
Keywords:
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).