RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE UPPER AND LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT DISEASES IN CHILDREN VACCINATED AGAINST PNEUMOCOCCAL INFECTION DURING THE NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTION PANDEMIC
Authors:   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Mikhailova E.V. , Malyugina T.N. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Matveeva M.A. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Serdyukov A.Yu. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Chudakova T.K. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Raskina E.E. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Zheleznikov P.A. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia, Malinina N.V. ,   Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky, Saratov, Russia
Published: October 2022

According to the WHO data, the pneumococcal infection (PI) is recognized as one of the most dangerous of all vaccine-preventable diseases due to its high mortality rates. The purpose of the study was to analyze the incidence of acute diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract in children depending on the presence and frequency of vaccinations against PI with PREVNAR 13® vaccine during the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and methods of the research: a retrospective analysis of the child development histories (Form No. 112/u “Child Development History”) of 92 children (45 boys, 47 girls) aged 3.1 [2.2; 3.5] years old observed in the Treatment-and-Prophylactic Department No. 1 with the Saratov City Children's Polyclinic No. 8 (Saratov, Russia) in May 2020 - Dec. 2021. A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted. Inclusion criteria were the absence of chronic pathology, developmental anomalies, background conditions and congenital immunodeficiency conditions. The authors analyzed the volume of cases with acute diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract considering the most typical and the most frequent ones in children, such as: nasopharyngitis, tonsillopharyngitis, adenoiditis, acute bronchitis, and community-acquired pneumonia. Results: it was found that in children vaccinated against PI the decrease in the incidence of diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract was recorded compared to unvaccinated children, and the maximum effectiveness of vaccination is achieved with a full vaccination course (the two consecutive vaccinations followed by a single revaccination (V1, V2, and RV). Conclusions: 1) in children who received a full course of vaccination against PI, nasopharyngitis was statistically significantly less common (3.55 cases per 1 child per year) than in children who did not receive a full course of vaccination (6.64 cases per 1 child per year) (p<0.001); adenoiditis (no cases were registered vs. 0.86 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001); tonsillopharyngitis (0.4 cases per 1 child per year vs. 1.89 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001), no cases of community-acquired pneumonia were detected vs. 0.22 cases per 1 child per year in children who did not receive a full course of vaccination. 2) among children vaccinated twice with the PREVNAR 13® vaccine compared to the children not vaccinated against PI there was a statistically significantly lower number of cases of adenoiditis i.e., 0.74 vs. 0.86 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001; tonsillopharyngitis (0.6 vs. 1.89 cases per child per year, p<0.001). 3) among children who received a single shot of vaccination against PI compared to unvaccinated children there was a statistically significantly lower number of cases of nasopharyngitis (5.28 vs. 6.64 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001).