No increased risk of relapse after meningococcal C conjugate vaccine in nephrotic syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether meningococcal C conjugate vaccine (MCCV) caused relapse in children with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome.


METHODS
A population-based study was conducted using an active surveillance system, developed to assess adverse events following vaccination, which linked hospital record information on relapses of nephrotic syndrome to community child health population MCCV data. An ecological study looking at hospital admissions for nephrotic syndrome in different age cohorts of children before and after the MCCV introductory campaign was also carried out.


METHODS
South East England, and England and Wales.


METHODS
52 children having 162 relapses of nephrotic syndrome. Also, all hospital admissions of children aged 2-18 years with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome in England and Wales between 1995 and 2003, relating admissions to when MCCV was introduced in specific age cohorts. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS METHOD: Self-controlled case series analysis looking for increased risk of relapse following MCCV and changes in admission rates for nephrotic syndrome (incidence ratio) following the introduction of MCCV to different age cohorts of children.


RESULTS
There was no increased risk of relapse following MCCV in the self-control case series, where a relative incidence of 0.95 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61-1.47) was found in the 6-month post-vaccination period, or in the ecological study, which gave an incidence rate ratio of 1.05 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.15) for the quarter when MCCV was introduced and the following two quarters.


CONCLUSIONS
We found no association between MCCV and nephrotic syndrome, which is therefore not a contraindication to meningococcal vaccination.
Taylor
Brent
B
General and Adolescent Paediatric Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Andrews
Nick
N
Stowe
Julia
J
Hamidi-Manesh
Laila
L
Miller
Elizabeth
E
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000075202:Contraindications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D009404:Nephrotic Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D055502:Secondary Prevention
D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines