Adherence to Current Vaccination Recommendations for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Mexico.

BACKGROUND

Patients with RA have a two to four-fold increased risk of developing infections compared to the general population. For this reason, the administration of influenza, pneumococcal and shingles vaccines is recommended for all patients with RA, preferably prior to initiating treatment, Previous studies have demonstrated the low prevalence of vaccination as well as adherence to current recommendations by rheumatologists in other regions.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the knowledge and adherence to the current vaccination recommendations for patients with RA by rheumatology members of the Mexican College of Rheumatology (MCR), and to identify barriers to their application in this population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted through a survey sent to 577 rheumatologists from Mexico in January 2017.

RESULTS

We received completed surveys from 122 individuals, representing 21.14% of the 577 rheumatologists in our registry. Fifty percent responded that they recommended immunization against influenza to 76%-100% of their patients, 36.07% recommended immunization against pneumococcus to 76%-100% of their patients, and 69.67% of the survey responders did not recommend shingles immunization routinely to their patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The data collected in this study show there is poor adherence to immunization schedules recommended for the RA population. This data suggests there is misinformation about the effectiveness, safety and optimal timing of immunization in patients with RA in Mexico.