[Influenza vaccination in patients admitted to a tertiary hospital. Factors associated with coverage].
BACKGROUND
Children aged less than 2 years old and those with chronic diseases have a high risk of complications and hospitalization due to influenza. Despite the broad consensus in the literature on the indication for annual immunization of these patients, less than 30 % of the children with high-risk underlying conditions are immunized each year. The aim of this study is to determine the influenza vaccine coverage in children with high-risk underlying conditions admitted to a university hospital.


METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional study of patients aged from 6 months to 18 years old with high-risk medical conditions and who had been hospitalized between January and May, 2005 in the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona). Influenza vaccine coverage, factors associated with immunization, and the reasons for nonvaccination were analyzed.


RESULTS
Overall vaccine coverage was 23.5 %. The highest vaccination coverage was found in patients with congenital heart disease, chronic respiratory disease, and asthma (43.2 %, 42.9 % and 28.6 %, respectively). The factors most frequently associated with influenza vaccination were the type of underlying disease, having been immunized against influenza in the previous season, having received the pneumococcal vaccine, and age younger than 5 years. The main reason for nonvaccination was the lack of influenza vaccine recommendation by health professionals (95.3 %).


CONCLUSIONS
Influenza vaccine coverage in children with high-risk conditions is low. Strategies to increase awareness among health professionals on the importance of recommending influenza immunization are required.
Sánchez Callejas
A
A
Servicio de Medicina Preventiva y Epidemiología. Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron. Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Barcelona. España.
Campins Martí
M
M
Martínez Gómez
X
X
Pinós Tella
L
L
Hermosilla Pérez
E
E
Vaqué Rafart
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D007252:Influenza Vaccines