Efficacy of Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Children With Cochlear Implant

Objective: The aim is to analyze the efficacy of heptavalent conjugate vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae (VPn7) in children with cochlear implant, in relation with the eradication of nasopharyngeal carriers and the prevention of complications. Analysis of the antimicrobial resistance and sensitivity of the different pneumococci strains isolated in cochlear implant nasopharyngeal carriers and healthy non-vaccinated children. Method: Pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriers were analyzed in this prospective study including two groups of children aged between 2 and 5 years, from 2005 to 2006. The first group included 55 cochlear implant recipients and all of them were vaccinated with VPn7. The second group included 60 non-vaccinated healthy children. Nasopharyngeal swabs for culture were obtained from each child in order to detect the pneumococcus, its serotypes and the sensitivity to antibiotics. Results: In the control group of non-vaccinated children, 25 % of them were found to be pharyngeal pneumococcus carriers, whereas this figure fell to 11 % in the vaccinated group. The non-vaccine serotypes (83.3 %) isolated in vaccinated children showed high or moderate sensitivity to penicillin. There were no complications due to S pneumoniae infections in any of the patients with cochlear implant who were vaccinated. Conclusions: VPn7 contributes to a decrease in pharyngeal colonization by pneumococci in general and, in particular, by the pneumococcal serotypes included in the vaccine, although there is a replacement phenomenon involving non-vaccine serotypes.