Hepatitis B screening amongst men who have sex with men within a sexual
health clinic
C. McDermott
The Sandyford Initiative, Glasgow, UK
Objective: The Steve Retson Project within the Sandyford Initiative,
Glasgow offers sexual health screening to men who have sex with men. All new and
re-book clients attending the Steve Retson Project (SRP) should be offered
hepatitis core anti-body (Hep BcAb) testing. Clients who test HepBcAb negative
should be offered and receive 3 vaccines within the appropriate timescale.
Previously the timescale for vaccination was 6 months, where the completion rate
for eligible clients was 45%. The timescale has now been reduced to 3 weeks. The
aim of the study was to demonstrate that our completion rate has improved since
the timescale has been reduced.
Method: A retrospective audit of all men attending SRP presenting with
new issues over a 3 month period. This included clients accessing services for
the first time (new) and clients returning to the service with a new problem (re-book).
Notes were reviewed and the hepatitis status and vaccine history extracted.
Results: A total of 91 case notes were reviewed. 59 clients did not
require HepBcAb testing due to previous vaccinations or acquired immunity. 1
client declined testing and 2 clients were not tested. 29 new and re-book
clients were HepBcAb tested. 2 clients had positive results, leaving a total of
27 eligible for vaccination. 23 clients completed vaccination schedule, 2
clients had 2 vaccines, 1 client had 1 vaccine and 1 client had no vaccine. This
represents a 79% completion rate for eligible clients.
Conclusion: A reduced timescale for vaccination schedule has improved
the completion rate of vaccination amongst men who have sex with men within our
clinic.
