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Hepatitis B screening — USMLE Step 3 MCQ

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HardPreventive Medicine, Epidemiology, BiostatisticsHepatitis B screeningUSMLE Step 3

A 41-year-old man born in Vietnam has never been screened for hepatitis B. He has normal alanine aminotransferase and no vaccination records. Which testing plan is best?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

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Correct answer: A — Order hepatitis B surface antigen, surface antibody, and total core antibody

He should receive the CDC hepatitis B triple-panel screen. Normal liver enzymes and absent symptoms do not exclude infection; single tests or DNA alone do not provide the recommended initial classification.

Reference: CDC, Hepatitis B Screening and Testing: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis-b/hcp/diagnosis-testing/index.html