The Impact of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Pneumococcal Diseases: Keeping the Emerging Picture in Focus
A supplement to Family Practice News.
Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Wyeth.
Highlights of articles based on clinical dialogues with the faculty.
To view the supplement, click the image above. To take the CME test, download and print out the PDF file, and follow the test instructions on page 16.
Contents
Introduction: What is the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine?
Larry Culpepper, MD, MPH
Professor and Chairman
Department of Family Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine Consultant: Abbott Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Forest Laboratories, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Pfizer, Inc., and Wyeth.
The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine and the Decline in Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases
Sheldon L. Kaplan, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Baylor College of Medicine
Department of Infectious Diseases
Texas Children's Hospital
Houston Grant Research Support: Roche and Pharmacia Corporation
Modification of Respiratory Infection in the Era of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine
Ron Dagan, MD
Professor, Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit
Soroka Medical Center
Ben-Gurion Uniersity of the Negev
Beer-Sheva, Israel Grant/Research Support: Abbott, Aventis, Bayer, Biotechnology General, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Roche Laboratories, Schering-Plough, and AstraZeneca.
The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: Unanswered Questions
Stephen I. Pelton, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Boston University School of Medicine
Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Boston Medical Center Grant/Research Support: Wyeth, Apovia, Aventis, and GlaxoSmithKline; Consultant: Wyeth; Speaker's Bureau: Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline.
Target Audience
This activity has been developed for pediatricians, primary care physicians, and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of infectious diseases in children.
Educational Needs
Disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most common causes of hospitalization among children and adults of all ages. For example, each year in the United States, pneumococcal infections are responsible for 40,000 deaths. Among the pediatric populations, S. pneumoniae causes 7 million cases of otitis media annually, as well as a significant number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease—3,000 cases of meningitis, 50,000 cases of bacteremia, and 500,000 cases of pneumonia. The heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate faccine (PCV-7) has been in widespread use in the United States and in several countries worldwide for more than 2 years. In that time, data have been collected which indicate that this vaccine is highly effective and safe in the target population—that is, children less than 2 years of age—but also that its use may be responsible for an observed decline in pneumococcal disease in older children and adults as well, as a result of so-called herd immunity. The articles in this supplement focus on these issues, specifically addressing advances in knowledge and current recommended strategies.
Learning Objectives
By reading and studying the articles in this supplement, participants should be able to discuss:
• The rationale for the current formulation of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7).
• The evidence from major epidemiologic studies concerning the efficacy of PCV-7 in decreasing the risk for invasive pneumococcal disease in children under 2 years of age and in older children and adults (the “herd immunity” phenomenon).
• The theoretical proposal that the widespread use of PCV-7 may be causing a modification of diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
• The major issues that remain to be answered about pneumococcal disease in the era of the PCV-7 vaccine, including the nature and possible causes of vaccine failure, risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease, the duration of efficacy of the vaccine, and the changes likely to occur in antibiotic resistance among pneumococci.
Accreditation
Boston University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Boston University School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 category 1 credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that h/she actually spent on the activity.
In order to successfully complete this activity, you are required to read the entire monograph and complete and submit the completed test answer sheet by September 30, 2004. CME credit will be awarded provided a score of 70% or better is achieved. A certificate of credit will be sent within six weeks of receipt of the test answers to those who successfully complete the examination.
Term of approval: September 2003 – September 2004.
