Pneumococcal Vaccination and Specific Polysaccharide Antibody Deficiency Syndrome

Every year invasive pneumococcal disease kills 5,000 people in the United States and 2 million people worldwide. The pneumococcal vaccine is considered 60% to 70% effective in preventing pneumococcal disease. Reasons for incomplete protection include ineffective antibody response, compromised immunity, poor nutritional status, and switching of pneumococcal genes to nonvaccine serotypes. Patients with specific polysaccharide antibody deficiency syndrome present with a history of frequent infections requiring antibiotics, including sinusitis, pneumonia, and otitis media, which could be prevented with vaccination. Thus, it is imperative that nurse practitioners promote the use of pneumococcal vaccination and have an understanding of specific polysaccharide antibody deficiency.