Rates of Vaccination against Streptococcus Pneumoniae in Cochlear Implant Patients

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause life-threatening illness, with invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) like meningitis, sepsis, bacteremic pneumonia, and bacteremia being major causes of morbidity and mortality. Studies have shown that patients who have had a cochlear implant, particularly children, have an increased risk of bacterial (pneumococcal) meningitis. Vaccination in patients with cochlear implants is important and recommended universally. The World Health Organization recommends the use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in all countries and considers their use to be a priority in all national immunization programs. The objective of this study was to assess rates of vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae in patients with cochlear implants who were implanted at the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Poland. MATERIAL/METHODS: We analyzed data from questionnaires administered to 2,628 patients who visited the Implants and Auditory Perception Department (IAPD) of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing between January 2014 and March 2016. RESULTS: The percentage of vaccinated patients in the study group was 28.2%, most of whom (90.7%) were children. Among the children, 49.3% were vaccinated against S. pneumoniae, but the corresponding rate for adults was only 5.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of patients with cochlear implants who received vaccination against S. pneumoniae was low, both in children and adults, but especially in adults comparing to available reports.