By Jonathan Springston, Editor, Relias Media
Researchers observed lower vaccine antibody levels in pediatric patients who had been prescribed antibiotics early in life.
Investigators examined data on children age 6 months to 24 months — specifically, vaccine antibody levels for 342 children who had been prescribed antibiotics vs. 218 who had not. Researchers considered antibody levels relative to diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP), inactivated polio (IPV), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) vaccines.
After each antibiotic course received, antibody levels for DTaP, Hib, and IPV were lower by 5.8%, 6.8%, and 11.3%, respectively. For PCV, antibodies were 10.4% lower for un-boosted vaccinations, and the antibodies were 12.2% to 21.3% lower after boosters. In addition to race and ethnicity, the authors noted daycare attendance factored into antibiotic prescription rates — 42.7% of children who received antibiotics were in daycare vs. 20.6% who did not receive antibiotics.
The authors urged caution about overprescribing antibiotics for infants and toddlers to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, although they concluded additional research that includes larger cohorts and more frequent antibody testing is needed. A commenter on the online version of the paper suggested children with weaker immune systems may have been the patients who received more antibiotics. Perhaps this will be a consideration in future investigations.
For more on this and related subjects, be sure to read the latest issues of Hospital Infection Control & Prevention, Infectious Disease Alert, and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Reports.