Duration of protection from pneumonia after pneumococcal vaccination in hemodialysis patients
Advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common chronic illnesses in Germany. In the affected dialysis patients, the immune system is weakened and the susceptibility to infection is increased: Pneumonia caused by pneumococci is one of the most common causes of death, although patients are vaccinated against it. Why the effect of the vaccination is reduced in this patient group is not yet understood. The multicentre observational study DOPPIO (Duration of protection from pneumonia after pneumococcal vaccination in hemodialysis patients) examined how dialysis patients respond to the vaccination. The aim of the study is to improve individualised vaccination protection.
The DOPPIO study was conducted in collaboration with the "Kuratorium für Dialyse und Nierentransplantation" (KfH), a non-profit organisation with access to more than 18,500 hemodialysis patients in 200 affiliated outpatient kidney centres throughout Germany.
The study was closely linked to the KfH's "Quality in Nephrology" (QiN) registry, one of the largest quality programmes for the chronically ill in the German and European healthcare systems. The aim was to compare the frequency of pneumonia and the antibody titres of recently vaccinated patients with those of patients whose last pneumococcal vaccination was more than two years ago.
Study participants were recruited in KfH practices. The DZIF study centres coordinated the analysis of the antibodies formed and the two-year follow-up to document pneumonia.
Recruitment began in December 2017. By the end of May 2019, a total of 884 patients had been enrolled in the study. Even during the study, it became apparent that the implementation of DOPPIO and the accompanying sensitisation of patients led to a significant improvement in the vaccination rate: about 85% of patients were vaccinated shortly before the start of the study, many of them for the first time.
The DOPPIO study has now been completed and the results will be published shortly. These should not only provide better protection against pneumococcal infections for this patient group, but also promote general awareness of vaccinations among chronically ill people.
