title: Impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on otitis media: a systematic review.
abstract: Acute otitis media (AOM) is a leading cause of visits to physicians and of antibiotic prescriptions for young children. We systematically reviewed studies on all-cause AOM episodes and physician visits in which impact was attributed to pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, either as efficacy or effectiveness. Of 18 relevant publications found, most used the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM). The efficacy of 7vCRM against all-cause AOM episodes or visits was 0%-9% in randomized trials and 17%-23% in nonrandomized trials. In observational database studies, physician visits for AOM were already declining in the 3-5 years before 7vCRM introduction (mean change, -15%; range, +14% to -24%) and continued to decline afterward (mean, -19%; range, +7% to -48%). This vaccine provides some protection against OM, but other factors have also contributed to the recent decline in OM incidence. Future effectiveness studies should thus use better-controlled methods to estimate the true impact of vaccination on AOM.
authors.affiliation: GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Global Vaccine Development, Wavre, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marchisio
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vergison
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harriague
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Hausdorff
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haggard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000069443:Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000069443:Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines