scholarly journals Identifying Missed Opportunities for the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13)

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Jindracek ◽  
Jennifer E. Stark

Background: The recommendation for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in adults 65 years and older is recent, and the dosing schedule of PCV13 and the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) can be complex in this population. Objective: The authors assessed the rate of PCV13 immunization in patients 65 years of age and older and identified barriers that contributed to missed opportunities for PCV13. Methods: This retrospective review evaluated outpatient Veterans age 65 years or older who did not receive PCV13 at a scheduled primary care appointment despite an electronic reminder. Investigators recorded any documented reason for the patient not receiving PCV13. Results: The rate of PCV13 immunizations administered during the primary care visit study period was 37% (89 of 239 PCV13 eligible patients). Of the 150 patients identified who did not receive PCV13, 92% were not offered the vaccine, 6.7% declined vaccination, and 0.7% reported an allergy to vaccination. Electronic immunization records revealed that 48 of the 150 patients who did not receive PCV13 at their clinic appointment did receive PCV13 later the same year. Most patients received PCV13 in influenza vaccine season on the same day as receiving the influenza vaccine. Conclusion: The main barrier identified was not offering the vaccination during primary care visits. Pneumococcal vaccine administration was delayed until the influenza vaccine season in a significant portion of patients. This unexpected finding represents a target for education: ensuring health care professionals are reminded that PCV13 is not a seasonal vaccine like the influenza vaccine, but should be offered throughout the year.

2014 ◽  
Vol 168 (3) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa S. Stockwell ◽  
Karen Broder ◽  
Philip LaRussa ◽  
Paige Lewis ◽  
Nadira Fernandez ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1296-1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Frenck ◽  
Alejandra Gurtman ◽  
John Rubino ◽  
William Smith ◽  
Martin van Cleeff ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial evaluated the immunogenicity, safety, and tolerability of a 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) coadministered with trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) in pneumococcal vaccine-naive adults. Participants ages 50 to 59 years (n= 1,116) received TIV with PCV13 (group 1) or placebo (group 2) (1:1 randomization); 1 month later, group 1 received placebo and group 2 received PCV13. A hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assay for TIV and a standardized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for pneumococcal serotype-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) were performed and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers (assessedpost hoc) were measured at baseline and 1 and 2 months postvaccination. The rises in HAI assay geometric mean titer (GMT) and percentage of participants in groups 1 and 2 with ≥4-fold increases in HAI responses (A/H1N1, 84.0% and 81.2%, respectively; A/H3N2, 71.1% and 69.5%, respectively; and B, 60.6% and 60.3%, respectively) were similar. In group 1, all serotypes met the predefined IgG geometric mean concentration (GMC) ratio noninferiority criterion relative to group 2, but GMCs were lower in group 1 than group 2. When comparing group 1 with group 2, 5 serotypes did not meet the OPA GMT ratio noninferiority criterion, and OPA GMTs were significantly lower for 10 serotypes. PCV13 injection site reactions were similar and mostly mild in both groups. Systemic events were more frequent in group 1 (86.2%) than group 2 (76.7%;P< 0.001); no vaccine-related serious adverse events occurred. Coadministration of PCV13 and TIV was well tolerated but associated with lower PCV13 antibody responses and is of unknown clinical significance. Given the positive immunologic attributes of PCV13, concomitant administration with TIV should be dictated by clinical circumstances.


Author(s):  
Ravinder Kaur ◽  
Minh Pham ◽  
Karl O A Yu ◽  
Michael E Pichichero

Abstract Background Antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae strains may cause infections that fail to respond to antimicrobial therapy. Results reported from hospitalized patients with invasive, bacteremic infections may not be the same as those observed in a primary care setting where young children receive care for noninvasive infections. Young children experience the highest burden of pneumococcal disease. The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility of S. pneumoniae strains isolated from children in a primary care setting in the post–13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) era. Methods This was a prospective collection of 1201 isolates of S. pneumoniae from 2006 through 2016 in a primary care setting. Antibiotic susceptibility testing to 16 different antibiotics of 10 classes was performed. Participants were children aged 6–36 months. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from patients during acute otitis media (AOM) visits and routine healthy visits. Middle ear fluid was obtained by tympanocentesis. Results After introduction of PCV13, antibiotic susceptibility of pneumococci, especially to penicillin, initially improved largely due to disappearance of serotype 19A, included in PCV13. However, beginning in 2013, antibiotic susceptibility among pneumococcal strains began decreasing due to new serotypes not included in PCV13. In addition to reduced susceptibility to penicillin, the most recent isolates show reduced susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and carbapenems, antibiotics commonly used to treat life-threatening, invasive pneumococcal diseases. Conclusions In recent years, pneumococcal nasopharyngeal and AOM isolates from children exhibit reduced susceptibility to penicillin, third-generation cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone, and carbapenem antibiotics. The new strains have a different profile of resistance compared to the pre-PCV13 era.


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