Vaccination in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Experience of a Portuguese Tertiary Center

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with a rising incidence.The cornerstone of treatment relies on immunosuppressive/ biological drugs.These medications carry an increased risk of infections, which can be mitigated through vaccination.Our objective was to characterize the vaccination status of pediatric patients with IBD undergoing treatment.Materials and methods: An observational and retrospective analysis of clinical processes for patients diagnosed with IBD followed at a tertiary hospital from April 2010 to April 2023, under treatment in May 2024.Results: Ninety-nine individuals were included, 62 (63%) were female, and a median age of 13 years (IQR 11-15).Sixty-nine (70%) had Crohn's disease (CD), 21 (21%) had ulcerative colitis (UC), and 9 (9%) had indeterminate colitis.At the time of the study, 48 (48%) with immunomodulators, and 53 (53%) with biological drugs.Regarding vaccination status, in 95 (96%), the National Immunization Plan (NIP) was up to date at diagnosis (100% at the start of treatment).At the time of the study, 74% had received the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, 69% the influenza vaccine, 64% the polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine, and the hepatitis A vaccine, 63% the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, 61% the booster dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, 54% the varicella vaccine, 11% the meningococcal A, C, W, Y vaccine, and 6% the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.Conclusion: Preventing opportunistic infections is essential in patients with IBD.Despite good vaccination coverage in this sample, which is significantly higher than reported in the literature, there remains considerable room for improvement, particularly for non-NIP vaccines.