A comparison of multiple regimens of pneumococcal polysaccharide-meningococcal outer membrane protein complex conjugate vaccine and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in toddlers

Children who had been randomized to receive one dose of either heptavalent pneumococcal polysaccharide-meningococcal outer membrane protein complex conjugate vaccine (PCV) or 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PN23) at 12, 15, or Is months of age were subsequently randomized to receive a booster injection of either PCV or PN23 12 months later. For those children who received a priming dose of PCV (N = 75) compared to PN23 (N = 48) at 12, 15, or Is months of age, higher serum antibody concentrations were achieved 1 month following a booster injection of either PCV or PN23 for all serotypes tested (p < 0.001). Within the group of children receiving a priming dose of PCV, those children who received a booster dose of PN23 developed higher serum antibody concentrations for four of the seven serotypes tested and similar opsonic antibody titers to serotype 6B, yet more frequent erythema (p = 0.030) and pain or soreness (p = 0.024) at the injection site compared to those boosted with PCV. In conclusion, a single dose of PCV at 12-18 months of age primed for responses to booster doses of either PCV or PN23 12 months later. For those children who received a priming dose of PCV, boosting with PN23 resulted in more frequent injection site pain and erythema than boosting with PCV, yet higher antibody concentrations for most of the serotypes tested. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.