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PCV7, PCV13 linked with fewer pneumonia hospitalizations
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Recent data indicate the 7- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have significantly contributed to a decreased prevalence of pneumonia among children aged younger than 2 years living in Tennessee.
Marie R. Griffin, MD, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, and colleagues reviewed Tennessee hospital discharge data from 1998 to 2012 for all-cause pneumonia hospitalizations among children aged younger than 2 years.
Marie R. Griffin
In 1998 and 1999, there were more than 2,000 hospitalizations for pneumonia each year among the study population. This number decreased to less than 1,000 hospitalizations from 2010 through 2012, following the introduction of PCV13 (Prevnar 13, Pfizer).
Annual pneumonia hospitalization rates among study participants decreased from 14.5 per 1,000 in the years preceding PCV introduction to 4.1 per 1,000 in 2012, following PCV13 introduction. According to researchers, this equates to a 72% reduction in hospitalizations compared with the annual rate prior to PCV7 introduction, or 10.5 fewer hospitalizations per 1,000 children annually.
In 2011 and 2012, Tennessee children aged younger than 2 years experienced an estimated 1,300 fewer hospitalizations for pneumonia each year.
Following the introduction of PCV13, annual pneumonia hospitalization rates decreased by 27%, indicating 1.5 fewer hospitalizations per 1,000 children, compared with PCV7 years.
Additionally, pneumonia hospitalizations coded as pneumococcal decreased by 83% among Tennessee children aged younger than 2 years.
“These data attest to the powerful impact of the PCV program on pneumonia in Tennessee children. The observed trend likely represents a major decline in pneumococcal pneumonia, which should stimulate a reassessment of current causes and appropriate management of pneumonia in children,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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