Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Reduces Recurrence of Acute Otitis Media: Presented at ESPID

To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Reduces Recurrence of Acute Otitis Media: Presented at ESPID
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/221E2A.htm
Doctor's Guide
May 23, 2008

By Neil Osterweil

GRAZ, Austria -- May 23, 2008 -- Children with a history of uncomplicated acute otitis media (AOM) who were vaccinated with inactivated virosomal influenza vaccine had a significantly lower incidence of recurrent AOM, investigators reported here at the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID).

The vaccine was not successful, however, at reducing the recurrence of AOM among children with a history of AOM with spontaneous perforation of the tympanic membrane, reported Paola Marchisio, MD, Professor of Paediatrics, Institute of Paediatrics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

Dr. Marchisio and colleagues conducted a randomised study to investigate the efficacy and safety of an inactivated virosomal influenza vaccine in children with a history of recurrent complicated and uncomplicated AOM. The findings were presented on May 15.

In the prospective, observer-blinded, single-centre study, 90 children from the ages of 12 to 48 months with a documented history of recurrent AOM (defined as 3 or more AOM episodes in the preceding 6 months, or 4 episodes in 12 months) were enrolled to receive the vaccine, and another 90 children with a similar history were enrolled as controls (receiving no vaccine).

The vaccinated children received a virosome-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine containing 15 mcg of A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1), 15 mcg of A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2), and 15 mcg of B/Malaysia/2506/2004. The children received 2 intramuscular injections of 0.5 mL for those over 36 months of age, or 0.25 mL for children 36 months or younger. Injections were given on day 1 and day 29.

Safety was judged by solicited local and general adverse events recorded for up to 7 days after vaccination. Participants were followed for 6 months with weekly phone calls, pneumatic otoscopy, and tympanometry every 4 to 6 weeks, and every time the child developed acute respiratory symptoms. The analysis was further broken down by type of previous infection: uncomplicated AOM or complicated AOM (AOM with spontaneous perforation).

In all, 54.4% of children who had received the vaccine were diagnosed with 1 or more AOM episodes during follow-up, compared with 82.2% of controls. Among 97 children with a history of recurrent uncomplicated AOM, the infection was diagnosed in 20 (41.7%) compared with

39 (79.6%) controls (47.6% efficacy, P = .0002).

Among children with a history of complicated AOM, however, 69.1% of those in the vaccine group had a recurrent AOM episode, compared with 85.4% of controls (19% efficacy, not statistically significant).

The most frequent adverse events among the children in the vaccine group were irritability (11% of children after the first injection and 10% after the second injection) and cough (10% of children after the first injection and 5.5% after the second injection).

Dr. Marchisio noted that the vaccine was effective at reducing AOM recurrence among children both younger than and older than 24 months.

"Use of inactivated influenza virus vaccine should be considered the first step of the strategy for reducing the incidence of AOM in children with a history of recurrent disease," Dr. Marchisio concluded.

[Presentation title: Efficacy of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Preventing Acute Otitis Media (AOM) in Children With Recurrent Uncomplicated or Complicated AOM. Abstract 34]

http://www.docguide.com

Return to News Story Page

webmaster@pslgroup.com