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Rotavirus vaccine benefits outweigh risk for intussusception in US infants
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The benefits of rotavirus vaccine “substantially exceeds” the risk for hospitalizations due to vaccination-associated intussusceptions, according to study data published online.
Rishi Desai, MD, MPH, an epidemic intelligence service officer in the division of viral diseases at the CDC, and colleagues presented data they derived from national database on vaccine coverage and using postlicensure findings from Mexico, from which they estimated an RR for intussusception as 5.3 (95% CI, 3.0-9.3).
Assuming an aggregate US birth cohort of 4.3 million infants, the rotavirus vaccine would be expected to prevent 14 deaths and 53,444 hospitalizations and about 170,000 ED visits caused by rotavirus. However, an excess of 0.2 deaths, 45 hospitalizations and 13 ED visits may occur as a result of intussusception. The resulting benefit-to-risk ratio is 71:1 for death and 1,093:1 for hospitalizations, the researchers said.
Desai and colleagues said although an intussusception risk with rotavirus vaccines has not been demonstrated in the United States, “health care providers should maintain increased vigilance for intussuception in the first week after the first dose of rotavirus vaccine and inform caretakers of early signs and symptoms of intussuception.”
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Desai R. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2012; doi:10.1097/INF.0b013e318270362c.
Disclosure: Desai reports no relevant financial disclosures.