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Richard L. Pierce, MPH, PhD; Sheree Smith, RN, BSN; Beth Rowe-West, RN, BSN; Barbara Sterritt, RN, MSN

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:619-623.

Objectives  To determine if the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices hepatitis B screening, vaccination, and prophylaxis recommendations were being followed in North Carolina, and to establish a baseline hepatitis B seroprevalence rate.

Design  A survey of mother and infant birthing facility medical records.

Setting  Four birthing facilities selected from each of the 7 districts in North Carolina (a total of 28 facilities).

Participants  A probability proportional to size survey design was used to select 4763 mother-infant record pairs. All records came from the 1996 birth cohort.

Main Outcome Measures  Maternal hepatitis B screening status, infant vaccination status, infants prophylaxis status, hepatitis B seroprevalence rate, demographic and clinical predictors for maternal infection, failure to receive prenatal care or for whom status was unknown, failure to screen, and failure to vaccinate.

Results  Ninety-two percent of pregnant women were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen. Eighty-six percent of infants received dose 1 of the hepatitis B vaccine. Four of the 9 infants with mothers who were hepatitis B surface antigen–positive did not receive both vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin. The hepatitis B seroprevalence rate was 0.2%. Mothers who were not screened for infection were 3.4 times more likely to have infants who were not vaccinated. White mothers were twice as likely not to have their child vaccinated as mothers of other races.

Conclusions  Not all infants with hepatitis B–infected mothers were receiving vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin as recommended. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B infection may be lower in North Carolina than in other states. Hepatitis B laboratory test results should be included in every mother's medical record.

From the North Carolina Division of Women and Children's Health, Immunization Section, Raleigh.

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