Revaccination of healthy nonresponders with hepatitis B vaccine and prediction of seroprotection response

Sixty healthy nonresponders were randomized to receive intramuscular (IM) high dose hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine versus IM standard dose HBV vaccine plus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) at 0-2 months. Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen was measured 1 month after each dose and 3 months after the last dose. Two regimens were equivalent in eliciting seroprotection in nonresponders. Weight-height index (WHI) <39 and alanine transaminase (ALT) <39mg/dl predicted which nonresponders would seroconvert. A three-dose regimen of standard dose HBV vaccine plus GM-CSF may be a useful for seroprotection of healthy nonresponders. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.