Influenza, PCV13, and PPSV23 Vaccination Rates Among Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients With Additional Co-Morbidities as per CDC Recommendations

Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its immunosuppressive therapy alter the body's immune response, predisposing patients to higher infection risk preventable with vaccination. The CDC recommends every adult receive the annual influenza vaccine and patients with certain comorbidities receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23). However, vaccination rates among IBD patients remain unacceptably low. The aim of our study is to present influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations rates of IBD patients at our center. Methods We hypothesized that vaccination rates will be suboptimal at our outpatient center and that patients are not being vaccinated based on comorbid conditions in accordance with guidelines. We retrieved electronic medical records from the gastroenterology clinic between December 2018 and December 2019. Data regarding influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, immunosuppressive drugs, and comorbidities were obtained. Microsoft Excel and SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) were used for data analyses. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results In total, 109 IBD patients were identified, 46.8% female and 53.2% male. The majority were African American (77.06%). The mean age was 45 years. Around 26.61% of the patients were on immunosuppressive therapy. Around 28.7% received the annual influenza vaccine, 42.2% PPSV23 alone, 19.27% PCV13 alone, and 16.5% received both. Patients >50 years were more likely to receive the influenza vaccine (P = 0.0122). Patients on immunosuppressive therapy were not more likely to be vaccinated with both PCV13 and PPSV23 (P = 0.1848, P = 0.7382). Active smokers were not more likely to be vaccinated with PPSV23 (P = 0.695). Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and sickle-cell disease were more likely to be vaccinated with both PCV13 and PPSV23 (P = 0.02, P = 0.02). Patients with other chronic medical conditions were more likely to be vaccinated with PPSV23 (P = 0.0201). Conclusion Our study revealed suboptimal influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates among IBD patients at our facility. We also found that patients were not consistently vaccinated based on qualifying co-morbid conditions. Age plays a role in whether patients received the influenza vaccine contrary to guidelines. We urge clinicians to examine IBD patient vaccination rates at their facilities.