BACKGROUND Pneumococcal vaccination in eligible patients is recommended by the Infectious Disease Society of America and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Because hospitalization provides an opportunity to vaccinate patients at high risk for developing serious pneumonia complications, eligibility screening and administration of the pneumococcal ...

CONTEXT With routine childhood vaccination using heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, one concern has been the potential for emergence and expansion of replacement disease caused by serotypes not contained in the heptavalent conjugate vaccine. OBJECTIVE To determine whether replacement disease is associated with the overall decline in invasive pneumococcal disease among Alaska Native c...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Many pediatric rheumatology patients are at increased risk of pneumococcal disease secondary to a deficient immune system and/or immunosuppressive medications. The goal of this study was to improve pneumococcal vaccination rates in this high-risk population. METHODS Eligible patients included children at least 2 years old and adults with systemic lupus erythematosus a...

BACKGROUND To analyse specific immune response to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine by measuring pneumococcal antibodies in children with asthma and with respiratory recurrent infection (RRI) as compared to healthy children. METHODS The study included 60 children, divided into three groups: 20 with asthma, 20 with RRI, and 20 healthy controls. Post-vaccination specific IgG ant...

Background.  Influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations are recommended for elderly and high-risk patients; however, rates of adherence are low. We sought to implement influenza and pneumococcal vaccine initiatives in 4 different ambulatory specialty practices, using 3 unique approaches. Methods.  Four specialties with high-risk patient populations were selected for intervention: allergy (asthma),...

The 7-valent pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccine (PCV7) has been shown to be highly efficacious against invasive pneumococcal diseases and effective against pneumonia and in reducing otitis media. The introduction of PCV7 has resulted in major changes in the epidemiology of pneumococcal diseases. However, pneumococcal vaccines induce serotype-specific immunity, and a relative increase in non...

BACKGROUND Secondary bacterial infections (especially pneumococcal infections) were a major cause of death during prior influenza pandemics. One strategy to prevent pneumococcal infections in adults during a future pandemic is to stockpile 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23). Stockpiling a pneumococcal vaccine can ensure that it is available when needed most-that is, at the o...

UNLABELLED Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is recommended in western countries for individuals at high risk of pneumococcal illness. We undertook a systematic review of randomised controlled trials of pneumococcal vaccine in adults, to determine the effects on clinical outcomes. RESULTS In industrialised populations, no benefit was detected for outcomes other than pneumococcal bacteraemia...

STUDY OBJECTIVE Fever is among the most common presenting complaints of infants and children younger than 3 years who present to the emergency department (ED). The evaluation and management of the febrile child is evolving rapidly. We compare the proportion of pneumococcal bacteremia between febrile infants and children younger than 3 years who had and had not received the heptavalent pneumococ...

BACKGROUND Serogroup distribution of sterile site pneumococcal isolates varies between developing and developed countries as well as between different geographical regions. The potential efficacy of any pneumococcal vaccine depends on the degree of representation of the prevalent serogroups in the vaccine. We conducted this study to determine the prevalent pneumococcal serogroups causing invasi...