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Influenza vaccine safe for children with IBD
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Influenza immunization rates in children with inflammatory bowel disease are often low, but immunization did not result in increased adverse events or contacts with the health system, according to findings in a recently published study.
Eric I. Benchimol, MD, PhD, adjunct scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and principal investigator at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, and colleagues examined health records for all children aged younger than 19 years with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Ontario between 1999 to 2009 and matched them to non-IBD controls. The researchers found 4,916 patients with IBD and 21,686 controls.
Eric I. Benchimol
Benchimol and colleagues reported that 25.3% of patients with IBD had ever received influenza immunization from a physician or nurse practitioner, and fewer than 10% received annual immunization. There were no increased rates of adverse events in the 6 months after immunization vs. control periods (more than 6 months after immunization or years in which they were not immunized).
The researchers said their findings of evidence of a protective effect of influenza immunization against IBD-related health services use should encourage improvement of poor coverage rates.
“We found that the influenza vaccine was safe in children with IBD — there was not an increased rate of general all-cause physician visits, hospitalization or ED visits in the 6 months following immunization compared with periods in which the children did not receive the vaccine,” Benchimol told Infectious Diseases in Children. “In fact, following immunization, children with IBD were less likely to see their physician for IBD-related reasons. This raises the possibility that the immunization may actually protect against IBD flares, as we frequently see patients flare up after they’ve contract a viral infection.”
He said not only is the immunization safe in this population, “but receiving it may help keep the disease under control during flu seasons.”
Eric I. Benchimol, MD, PhD, can be reached at the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L1; email: ebenchimol@cheo.on.ca.
Disclosure: Benchimol is supported by a Career Development Award from the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program.
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