Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Post-Transplant Events

The benefit of influenza vaccination after bone marrow transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 36, pages 897–900 (2005)Cite this article

Summary:

Influenza vaccine is recommended yearly for recipients after the sixth month of BMT. Although a higher risk of complications of influenza is expected to occur in BMT patients, no study has addressed the clinical efficacy of influenza vaccination in this setting. Focusing on the clinical benefits of influenza vaccination, we evaluated the risk factors for influenza infection in a cohort of 177 BMT recipients followed up for 1 year. Influenza was diagnosed in 39 patients. Multivariate analyses showed that seasonal exposure and more aggressive conditioning regimens were independently associated with increased risk for influenza. Influenza vaccination and steroid use showed a protective role. Of the 43 patients who had received BMT longer than 6 months, 19 were vaccinated (compliance rate= 44.2%) and vaccine efficacy was 80%. We conclude that influenza vaccination plays an important role in protecting BMT recipients against influenza and all efforts should be made to ensure good compliance with vaccination.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Whimbey E, Elting LS, Cough RB et al. Influenza A virus infections among hospitalized adult bone marrow transplant recipients. Bone Marrow Transplant 1994; 13: 437–440.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bowden RA . Respiratory virus infections after marrow transplant: The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center experience. Am J Med 1997; 102: 27–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Cough RB, Englund JA, Whimbley E . Respiratory viral infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised persons. Am J Med 1997; 102: 2–9.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ljungman P, Ward KN, Crooks BNA et al. Respiratory virus infection after stem cell transplantation: a prospective study from the Infectious Diseases Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 2001; 28: 479–484.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bridges CB, Harper SA, Fukuda K et al. Prevention and control of influenza. Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP); Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR 2003; 52: 1–34.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Engelhard D, Nagler A, Hardan I et al. Antibody response to a two-dose regimen of influenza vaccine in allogeneic T cell-depleted and autologous BMT recipients. Bone Marrow Transplant 2001; 28: 775–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gandhi MK, Egner W, Sizer L et al. Antibody responses to vaccinations given within the first two years after transplant are similar between autologous peripheral blood stem cell and bone marrow transplant recipients. Bone Marrow Transplant 1993; 11: 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Dykewics CA, Jaffe HW . Guidelines for preventing opportunistic infections among hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Morbid Mortal Wkly Rep 2000; 49: 1–128.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Machado CM, Boas LSV, Mendes AVA et al. Use of oseltamivir to control influenza complications after bone marrow transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 2004; 34: 111–114.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Nichols WG, Guthrie KA, Corey L, Boeckh M . Influenza infections after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: risk factors, mortality, and the effect of antiviral therapy. Clin Infect Dis 2004; 39: 1300–1306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. van Essen GA, Palache AM, Forleo E, Fedson DS . Influenza vaccination in 2000: recommendations and vaccine use in 50 developed and rapidly developing countries. Vaccine 2003; 21: 1780–1785.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Doebbeling BN, Edmond MB, Davis CS et al. Influenza vaccination of health care workers: evaluation of factors that are important in acceptance. Prev Med 1997; 26: 68–77.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevention and control of influenza: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR 2004; 53: 1–40.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Drs AVA Mendes, MCA Macedo, RL Silva and RS Saboya from the BMT Program for providing excellent patient care, and Dr MH Lopes, from the Centro de Referência para Imunobiológicos Especiais (CRIE), University of São Paulo Medical School.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virology Laboratory (LIM 52-HCFMUSP) of Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    C M Machado, L S V Boas & C S Pannuti

  2. BMT Program, Discipline of Haematology, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil

    C M Machado, I F da Rocha, L S V Boas & F L Dulley

  3. Department of Epidemiology, University of São Paulo School of Public Health, São Paulo, Brazil

    M R A Cardoso

Authors
  1. C M Machado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M R A Cardoso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. I F da Rocha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L S V Boas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. F L Dulley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. C S Pannuti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C M Machado.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Machado, C., Cardoso, M., da Rocha, I. et al. The benefit of influenza vaccination after bone marrow transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 36, 897–900 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705159

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705159

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links