Hepatitis A Vaccine versus Immune Globulin for Postexposure Prophylaxis

Low rates of hepatitis A in both groups indicate that hepatitis A vaccine and immune globulin provided good protection after exposure. Although the study's prespecified criterion for noninferiority was met, the slightly higher rates of hepatitis A among vaccine recipients may indicate a true modest difference in efficacy and might be clinically meaningful in some settings. Vaccine has other advantages, including long-term protection, and it may be a reasonable alternative to immune globulin for postexposure prophylaxis in many situations. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00139139 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).