Ignacio Hernández-García1,2,3, Armando Chaure-Pardos1,3, Carlos Aibar-Remón1,2,3. 1. Servicio de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública. Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa. Zaragoza. España. 2. Departamento de Microbiología, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública. Universidad de Zaragoza. Zaragoza. España. 3. Grupo de Investigación en Servicios Sanitarios de Aragón (GRISSA). Zaragoza. España.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Splenectomized patients have an increased risk of sepsis caused by encapsulated bacteria. Pneumococcal, meningococcal and Haemophilus influenzae B vaccination is recommended in this group. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of the introduction of an immunization hospital clinic on their immunization coverages. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study. The control group included patients splenectomized between January 2012-April 2014, and the intervention group included patients splenectomized between May 2014-December 2016. The global and specific immunization coverages were compared between both groups using a Chi-square test. RESULTS: 80 patients were analyzed. The most commonly administered vaccine was the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (65.0%). A significant improvement was observed both in the global immunization rate (17.1% in the pre-intervention study vs. 57.8% in the post-intervention study) (RR: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.56-7.27) and in the specific immunization rate for the Haemophilus influenzae B, meningococcal C and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: Introducing an immunization hospital clinic is an effective measure to improve the immunization coverage of splenectomy patients.
OBJECTIVE: Splenectomized patients have an increased risk of sepsis caused by encapsulated bacteria. Pneumococcal, meningococcal and Haemophilus influenzae B vaccination is recommended in this group. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of the introduction of an immunization hospital clinic on their immunization coverages. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study. The control group included patients splenectomized between January 2012-April 2014, and the intervention group included patients splenectomized between May 2014-December 2016. The global and specific immunization coverages were compared between both groups using a Chi-square test. RESULTS: 80 patients were analyzed. The most commonly administered vaccine was the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (65.0%). A significant improvement was observed both in the global immunization rate (17.1% in the pre-intervention study vs. 57.8% in the post-intervention study) (RR: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.56-7.27) and in the specific immunization rate for the Haemophilus influenzae B, meningococcal C and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: Introducing an immunization hospital clinic is an effective measure to improve the immunization coverage of splenectomy patients.