Use of a Staphylococcus aureus conjugate vaccine in patients receiving hemodialysis.
BACKGROUND
In patients with decreased resistance to infection, Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of bacteremia and its complications. The capsular polysaccharides are essential for the pathogenesis of and immunity to S. aureus infection and are targets for vaccines.


METHODS
In a double-blind trial involving patients with end-stage renal disease who were receiving hemodialysis, we evaluated the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of a vaccine with S. aureus type 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides conjugated to nontoxic recombinant Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A. Between April 1998 and August 1999, 1804 adult patients at 73 hemodialysis centers were randomly assigned to receive a single intramuscular injection of either vaccine or saline. IgG antibodies to S. aureus type 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides were measured for up to two years, and episodes of S. aureus bacteremia were recorded. Efficacy was estimated by comparing the incidence of S. aureus bacteremia in the patients who received the vaccine with the incidence in the control patients.


RESULTS
Reactions to the vaccine were generally mild to moderate, and most resolved within two days. The capsular polysaccharides elicited an antibody response of at least 80 microg per milliliter (the estimated minimal level conferring protection) in 80 percent of patients for type 5 and in 75 percent of patients for type 8. The efficacy during weeks 3 to 54 was only 26 percent (P=0.23). However, between weeks 3 and 40 after vaccination, S. aureus bacteremia developed in 11 of 892 patients in the vaccine group who could be evaluated for bacteremia, as compared with 26 of 906 patients in the control group (estimate of efficacy, 57 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 10 to 81 percent; nominal P=0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
In patients receiving hemodialysis, a conjugate vaccine can confer partial immunity against S. aureus bacteremia for approximately 40 weeks, after which protection wanes as antibody levels decrease.
Shinefield
Henry
H
Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, CA 94612, USA. henry.shinefield@kp.org
Black
Steven
S
Fattom
Ali
A
Horwith
Gary
G
Rasgon
Scott
S
Ordonez
Juan
J
Yeoh
Hock
H
Law
David
D
Robbins
John B
JB
Schneerson
Rachel
R
Muenz
Larry
L
Fuller
Steve
S
Johnson
Joanie
J
Fireman
Bruce
B
Alcorn
Harry
H
Naso
Robert
R
D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; C423263:StaphVax; D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate