69 As such, this is the most promising vaccine adjuvant to date. It was licensed for use in CKD patients in Europe in 2005. Finally, studies have investigated whether intradermal (ID) vaccination may afford improved seroconversion. HBV vaccination in healthcare workers was evaluated in a Cochrane review in 2005.70 Low-dose ID injection was shown to provide lower anti-HBs levels than high-dose intramuscular (IM)

vaccination in this immunocompetent group of recipients. The following year a meta-analysis of IM versus ID vaccination in HD patients concluded that the ID route generated a superior anti-HBs response at the end of the vaccination protocol, but no significant differences in antibody levels were seen over longer follow-up.71 A similar conclusion was reached from a single, PLX4032 mouse small study of 60 chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients who were randomized

to ID or IM vaccination.72 The peak anti-HBs titres were reached earlier in the ID group, and a higher seroconversion rate attained, but there was no difference between the two groups in maintenance of seroprotective anti-HBs levels over 2 years of follow-up. The ID route is more technically challenging and causes an increased incidence of local reactions. Given that the majority of dialysis patients will respond to primary IM vaccination, the deltoid IM route seems preferable for primary Selleckchem OSI906 vaccination, with the ID route reserved for the more troublesome group of non-responders. The antibody response to hepatitis B vaccination declines with time. It is current practice to administer booster doses to those with an adequate initial response whose anti-HBs levels fall below 10 IU/L. For those who do not respond adequately to the initial vaccination course, a revaccination schedule may be employed. Bock et al. assessed the effect of a shorter revaccination course of injections in a small group of Etofibrate HD patients.73 In this randomized controlled trial, no improved efficacy for a shorter revaccination schedule was demonstrated. By contrast Barraclough

et al. used eight weekly ID injections of low-dose HBV vaccine in patients initially unresponsive to a standard vaccination schedule.74 In a randomized comparison with a 2-dose, 8-week IM vaccination schedule, the patients receiving ID vaccination had a significantly greater seroconversion rate, with a trend towards longer seroprotection in responders. The ID injections were well-tolerated. The findings were consistent with a prospective, randomized study from Italy in 1997.75 Alternatively, a small observational study from Israel found that the use of the third-generation vaccine Bio-Hep-B in a revaccination protocol yielded seroprotective anti-HBs levels in 25 of 29 initial non-responders (86%) to a standard vaccination schedule.76 Patients should therefore be vaccinated according to guidelines, with the recommended ‘double dose’ of 40 µg.