Abstract
Children admitted to a large, urban pediatric hospital were screened for HBsAg using a micromethod modification of Auscell. Sera from 2,865 children were obtained from 2,966 hospital admissions and 1,021 admissions to the short stay surgery unit (representing 74% sampling of all admissions). Sera positive on the screening assay were confirmed with Auszyme and/or Ausria. 15 sera (0.4% of all) were positive. One child with frequent readmissions accounted for 4 positives. Therefore, 12 children (0.3% of patients) were positive for HBsAg. Their ages ranged from 0.5 through 17 years (mean 7 years). 4 (33%) had Hispanic or Asian surnames. 7 (58%) were admitted to surgical services and 5 (42%) to medical services. Of 7 whose data are currently available, 6 (86%) were HBeAg positive and 1 (14%) was anti-HBe positive. Although fewer children with HBsAg were admitted to our hospital than predicted from the (adult) literature, we observed frequent (86%) HBeAg positivity. This suggests a high potential for infectivity.
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Gold, B., Williams, A., Dodd, R. et al. HEPATITIS B SURFACE ANTIGEN (HBsAg) POSITIVITY IN PATIENTS ADMITTED TO AN URBAN PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 183 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00542
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-00542