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Vaccine. 2014 Jun 21. pii: S0264-410X(14)00849-4. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.06.048. [Epub ahead of print]
Vaccine effectiveness against severe laboratory-confirmed influenza in children: Results of two consecutive seasons in Italy.
Menniti-Ippolito F1, Da Cas R2, Traversa G2, Santuccio C3, Felicetti P3, Tartaglia L3, Trotta F3, Di Pietro P4, Barabino P4, Renna S4, Riceputi L4, Tovo PA5, Gabiano C5, Urbino A5, Baroero L5, Le Serre D5, Virano S5, Perilongo G6, Daverio M6, Gnoato E6, Maretti M6, Galeazzo B6, Rubin G6, Scanferla S6, Da Dalt L7, Stefani C7, Zerbinati C7, Chiappini E8, Sollai S8, De Martino M8, Mannelli F8, Becciani S8, Giacalone M8, Montano S8, Remaschi G8, Stival A8, Furbetta M9, Abate P9, Leonardi I9, Pirozzi N10, Raucci U10, Reale A10, Rossi R10, Russo C10, Mancinelli L10, Manuela O10, Carlo C10, Mores N11, Romagnoli C11, Chiaretti A11, Compagnone A11, Riccardi R11, Delogu G11, Sali M11, Prete V11, Tipo V12, Dinardo M12, Auricchio F12, Polimeno T12, Sodano G12, Maccariello A13, Rafaniello C13, Fuc? F14, Di Rosa E14, Altavilla D15, Mecchio A15, Arrigo T15; Italian Multicentre Study Group for Drug and Vaccine Safety in Children.
Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine in preventing Emergency Department (ED) visits and hospitalisations for influenza like illness (ILI) in children.
METHODS:
We conducted a test negative case-control study during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 influenza seasons. Eleven paediatric hospital/wards in seven Italian regions participated in the study. Consecutive children visiting the ED with an ILI, as diagnosed by the doctor according to the European Centre for Disease Control case definition, were eligible for the study. Data were collected from trained pharmacists/physicians by interviewing parents during the ED visit (or hospital admission) of their children. An influenza microbiological test (RT-PCR) was carried out in all children.
RESULTS:
Seven-hundred and four children, from 6 months to 16 years of age, were enrolled: 262 children tested positive for one of the influenza viruses (cases) and 442 tested negative (controls). Cases were older than controls (median age 46 vs. 29 months), though with a similar prevalence of chronic conditions. Only 25 children (4%) were vaccinated in the study period. The overall age-adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 38% (95% confidence interval -52% to 75%). A higher VE was estimated for hospitalised children (53%; 95% confidence interval -45% to 85%).
DISCUSSION:
This study supports the effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine in preventing visits to the EDs and hospitalisations for ILI in children, although the estimates were not statistically significant and with wide confidence intervals. Future systematic reviews of available data will provide more robust evidence for recommending influenza vaccination in children.
Copyright ? 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
KEYWORDS:
Case-control study; Children; Influenza vaccine effectiveness; Laboratory-confirmed cases
PMID:
24962760
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Free full text
Vaccine effectiveness against severe laboratory-confirmed influenza in children: Results of two consecutive seasons in Italy.
Menniti-Ippolito F1, Da Cas R2, Traversa G2, Santuccio C3, Felicetti P3, Tartaglia L3, Trotta F3, Di Pietro P4, Barabino P4, Renna S4, Riceputi L4, Tovo PA5, Gabiano C5, Urbino A5, Baroero L5, Le Serre D5, Virano S5, Perilongo G6, Daverio M6, Gnoato E6, Maretti M6, Galeazzo B6, Rubin G6, Scanferla S6, Da Dalt L7, Stefani C7, Zerbinati C7, Chiappini E8, Sollai S8, De Martino M8, Mannelli F8, Becciani S8, Giacalone M8, Montano S8, Remaschi G8, Stival A8, Furbetta M9, Abate P9, Leonardi I9, Pirozzi N10, Raucci U10, Reale A10, Rossi R10, Russo C10, Mancinelli L10, Manuela O10, Carlo C10, Mores N11, Romagnoli C11, Chiaretti A11, Compagnone A11, Riccardi R11, Delogu G11, Sali M11, Prete V11, Tipo V12, Dinardo M12, Auricchio F12, Polimeno T12, Sodano G12, Maccariello A13, Rafaniello C13, Fuc? F14, Di Rosa E14, Altavilla D15, Mecchio A15, Arrigo T15; Italian Multicentre Study Group for Drug and Vaccine Safety in Children.
Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine in preventing Emergency Department (ED) visits and hospitalisations for influenza like illness (ILI) in children.
METHODS:
We conducted a test negative case-control study during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 influenza seasons. Eleven paediatric hospital/wards in seven Italian regions participated in the study. Consecutive children visiting the ED with an ILI, as diagnosed by the doctor according to the European Centre for Disease Control case definition, were eligible for the study. Data were collected from trained pharmacists/physicians by interviewing parents during the ED visit (or hospital admission) of their children. An influenza microbiological test (RT-PCR) was carried out in all children.
RESULTS:
Seven-hundred and four children, from 6 months to 16 years of age, were enrolled: 262 children tested positive for one of the influenza viruses (cases) and 442 tested negative (controls). Cases were older than controls (median age 46 vs. 29 months), though with a similar prevalence of chronic conditions. Only 25 children (4%) were vaccinated in the study period. The overall age-adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 38% (95% confidence interval -52% to 75%). A higher VE was estimated for hospitalised children (53%; 95% confidence interval -45% to 85%).
DISCUSSION:
This study supports the effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine in preventing visits to the EDs and hospitalisations for ILI in children, although the estimates were not statistically significant and with wide confidence intervals. Future systematic reviews of available data will provide more robust evidence for recommending influenza vaccination in children.
Copyright ? 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
KEYWORDS:
Case-control study; Children; Influenza vaccine effectiveness; Laboratory-confirmed cases
PMID:
24962760
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Free full text
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