Pneumonia pneumovax

6 posts · started Mar 10, 2007

thatsrightyessa Mar 10, 2007, 12:56 AM
the pneumovax vaccine lasts for 5 years, but i know some people get it more often than every 5 years adn some only get it once in their life. why is there such a difference in opinion on this.>? I mean sometimes i will recieve calls from antoher facility wanting to know when there last pneumonia shot was and some places willl just adminster the vaccine. So please tell me what you know on this i am very curious. Also what could happen if a person was to recieve a pneumonia shot within a 2 year period of just having one. thanks in advance!

happy friday!
AmandaWIRN Mar 11, 2007, 5:00 AM
I may be wrong, but I believe the "official" reccomendation is to have the pneumovax vaccine every 5 years, but if someone has it more frequently, I do not think it will hurt them. It's kind of like tetanus- the reccommendations range from every 5 to every 10 years, depending on who you ask, but if you get it more frequently, it won't hurt. That's why in the ER, if someone doesn't know when their last tetanus was or is unconscious, & they have a laceration or open wound, we just go ahead & give the tetanus- even if it may have been less than 5 years.
SoldierNurse Mar 11, 2007, 5:43 PM
PNEUMOVAX

Revaccination
Revaccination of immunocompetent persons previously vaccinated with 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine is not routinely recommended. However, revaccination once is recommended for persons ≥ 2 years of age who are at highest risk of serious pneumococcal infection and those likely to have a rapid decline in pneumococcal antibody levels, provided that at least five years have passed since receipt of a first dose of pneumococcal vaccine.

The highest risk group includes persons with functional or anatomic asplenia (e.g., sickle cell disease or splenectomy), HIV infection, leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, generalized malignancy, chronic renal failure, nephrotic syndrome, or other conditions associated with immunosuppression (e.g., organ or bone marrow transplantation), and those receiving immunosuppressive chemotherapy (including long-term systemic corticosteroids).

For children ≤ 10 years of age at revaccination and at highest risk of severe pneumococcal infection (e.g., children with functional or anatomic asplenia, including sickle cell disease or splenectomy or conditions associated with rapid antibody decline after initial vaccination including nephrotic syndrome, renal failure or renal transplantation), the ACIP recommends that revaccination may be considered three years after the previous dose.

If prior vaccination status is unknown for patients in the high-risk group, patients should be given pneumococcal vaccine. All persons ≥ 65 years of age who have not received vaccine within 5 years (and were < 65 years of age at the time of vaccination) should receive another dose of vaccine.

Because data are insufficient concerning the safety of pneumococcal vaccine when administered three or more times, revaccination following a second dose is not routinely recommended.

Reference
AmandaWIRN Mar 16, 2007, 10:49 AM
marshgreencohen wrote:that's a helpful information.but do you guys really give tetanus vaccine disregarding when the patient last had it?

Yes. If it is unknown or unsure when the patient last had their tetanus, or if the patient is unable to answer, then we just give the tetanus. Example: A trauma patient is unconscious, & has an open wound. Standard trauma protocol is to give the tetanus, rather than waiting to get ahold of old medical records or until family can verify the date of last tetanus. The rationale is that if tetanus isn't given in the ER, it is more likely to be missed & not given at all. It is not really harmful to have tetanus more frequently than reccommended, but if it is missed, the patient could die if they contract tetanus. A case of benefit outweighing risk.