Significance of Response to Hepatitis B Recombinant Vaccine in Subjects with Isolated Antibody to Hepatitis B Core Antigen.

BACKGROUND It is important to differentiate whether isolated anti-HBc is due to false positive results or the prior exposure to hepatitis B virus, because individuals with false-positive anti-HBc can benefit from vaccination and their blood can be safely transfused. To distinguish between these two conditions, we evaluated the serologic response to hepatitis B vaccine. METHODS Ninety subjects with isolated anti-HBc (cases) and 100 subjects with totally negative hepatitis B serologic markers (controls) were recruited to receive three doses of hepatitis-B (HB) vaccine.