Immunogenicity of the inactivated influenza vaccine in children who have undergone autologous stem cell transplant

CORRESPONDENCE To the Editor: Autologous stem cell transplant (SCT) is an upfront therapeutic modality for children with malignancies such as high-risk neuroblastoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour and a salvage option for children with lymphoma and a variety of solid tumours. The admini...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ryan, A.L., Wadia, U.D., Jacoby, P., Cheung, Laurence, Kerr, F., Fraser, C., Tapp, H., Carolan, L.A., Laurie, K.L., Barr, I.G., Blyth, C.C., Gottardo, N.G., Richmond, P.C., Kotecha, Rishi
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1142627
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80804
Description
Summary:CORRESPONDENCE To the Editor: Autologous stem cell transplant (SCT) is an upfront therapeutic modality for children with malignancies such as high-risk neuroblastoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour and a salvage option for children with lymphoma and a variety of solid tumours. The administration of highdose myeloablative chemotherapy during conditioning increases vulnerability to infection. Influenza infection can result in significant complications, in particular progression to pneumonia, in patients who have undergone autologous SCT [1, 2]. Influenza vaccination is recommended to prevent infection in children following autologous SCT [3], however, there is limited evidence regarding its benefit in this population [4]. Due to the paucity of data, we performed a prospective multicentre study to evaluate the immunogenicity of the seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine in children who have undergone autologous SCT compared with healthy matched controls.