Hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B markers: cost effectiveness of screening prehospital personnel.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of screening emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedical personnel prior to administering hepatitis B vaccine. Hepatitis B screening and Heptavax vaccine were offered to 259 basic EMTs and paramedics. Of the 259 individuals, 62 refused screening, and six who had already received hepatitis B vaccine were excluded from the study. The screening was not continued after the results of the first 174 tests returned negative. All 191 participants were vaccinated. No hepatitis B surface antigen carriers and only three individuals positive for hepatitis B surface antibody were found among those screened. This study corroborates the Centers for Disease Control guidelines of cost effectiveness in screening prehospital health care workers.