Vaccination status in children with congenital heart disease in Wuxi, China: Analysis of retrospective data

Vaccination rates among children with congenital heart disease (CHD) remain suboptimal. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological characteristics, vaccine coverage, and occurrence of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) of children aged ≤6 y with CHD in Wuxi, China. The medical records of children with CHD who visited grade II and above medical institutions in Wuxi from 2022 to 2023 were collected from the Wuxi Health Information Platform. Vaccination data were retrieved from the Jiangsu Province Vaccination Integrated Service Management Information System. AEFI data were obtained from the National Vaccination Management Information System. Of the 4,267 children enrolled in this study, the top three causes of CHD were atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus. The proportion of subjects who were administered the vaccine doses of the National Immunization Program (NIP) by the age of 1 year was 81.91-90.34%, whereas the proportion receiving the five non-NIP vaccines was 11.30-37.78%. The rates of AEFIs, general reactions, and abnormal reactions were 7.86, 6.90, and 0.96 cases per 10,000 children aged ≤6 y, respectively. No severe vaccine reactions were observed, and there was no significant difference in the occurrence of abnormal reactions as compared to the general population of children. The proportion of children with CHD receiving the NIP vaccines was relatively high, while the proportion administered the non-NIP vaccines was relatively low. Routine vaccination is safe for the majority of this patient population.