Pneumococcal Pure Polysaccharide Vaccination in Pediatric Patients With Chronic Heart Disease

Introduction: This study aimed to describe pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine-23 (PPSV23) vaccination use in high-risk pediatric patients with chronic heart disease (CHD).Method: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Patients were included if they were aged 2-18 years and were diagnosed with CHD. The primary outcome was PPSV23 vaccination. Secondary outcomes included missed opportunities and the incidence of infections.Results: Three hundred ninety-two patients were included; the mean age was 8.8 years. Only 40 patients (10.2%) had documentation of PPSV23 vaccination. Patients had a median number of three clinic visits in 2019. There were 114 cases of pneumonia documented in patients before receiving PPSV23 and one case reported after PPSV23 vaccination.Discussion: PPSV23 vaccination in high-risk pediatric patients with CHD was low, with many documented missed opportunities for vaccination. This may be attributed to the PPSV23 not being a routine vaccination on the pediatric schedule. J Pediatr Health Care. (2023) 37, 710-717