Tetanus immunity in long-term care facilities.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the correlates of tetanus immunity in the elderly residing in a long-term care facility in Hawaii.


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
A nursing home in Honolulu, Hawaii.


METHODS
Sixty subjects aged 65 and older: 30 men and 30 women.


METHODS
The interview included demographic information, immunization history, military service information, and other potential risk factors for tetanus. Serum tetanus antibody titers were measured.


RESULTS
The data showed that 76.7% (46/60) had adequate tetanus titers. This is in stark contrast to previous studies, which have reported immunity rates of 27% to 46% in similar populations. There were significant associations between immunity and prior history of military service. There were no significant associations between immunity and past history of immunization, education, socioeconomic status, or sex.


CONCLUSIONS
History of immunization from patients, families, or medical charts may be unreliable indicators of tetanus immunity. Recognizing patterns of and barriers to immunization could have important consequences for public health policy in long-term care institutions.
Fernandes
Ritabelle
R
Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School ofMedicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA. ritaferna@cs.com
Valcour
Victor
V
Flynn
Bret
B
Masaki
Kamal
K
Blanchette
Patricia
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013742:Tetanus / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*