Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Jul;9(7):617-23.
doi: 10.1001/archfami.9.7.617.

Does influenza vaccination exacerbate asthma? Analysis of a large cohort of children with asthma. Vaccine Safety Datalink Team

P Kramarz  1 , F DeStefano, P M Gargiullo, R L Davis, R T Chen, J P Mullooly, S B Black, H R Shinefield, K Bohlke, J I Ward, M S Marcy
Affiliations

Does influenza vaccination exacerbate asthma? Analysis of a large cohort of children with asthma. Vaccine Safety Datalink Team

P Kramarz et al. Arch Fam Med. 2000 Jul.

Abstract

Context: Although influenza vaccination is recommended for children with asthma, only a minority are vaccinated. One reason for low influenza vaccine coverage among children with asthma may be concern that influenza vaccination may induce an exacerbation of asthma.

Objective: To evaluate the safety of influenza vaccination in children with asthma, we studied the incidence of hospitalizations and emergency department visits for asthma following influenza vaccination.

Design: Retrospective cohort study-analysis of population-based computerized medical and vaccination records.

Setting: : Four large health maintenance organizations on the West Coast of the United States.

Subjects: Children with asthma 1 through 6 years of age, identified by search of computerized databases of medical encounters and pharmacy prescriptions.

Main outcome measures: Exacerbations of asthma.

Results: In unadjusted analyses vaccination was associated with high rates of asthma exacerbations. However, after adjusting for asthma severity using a self-control method, the incidence rate ratios of asthma exacerbations after vaccination were 0.58 (95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.95), 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.47-1.17), and 0.98 (95% confidence interval, 0.76-1.27) during the 3 influenza seasons.

Conclusions: After controlling for asthma severity, we found that influenza vaccination does not result in acute asthma exacerbations in children. Concern about possible exacerbation of asthma is not a valid reason to not vaccinate children with asthma against influenza.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Substances