A Double-Blind, Randomized Trial of High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Influenza Vaccine in Adult Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients

Background. The annual standard-dose (SD) influenza vaccine has suboptimal immunogenicity in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs). Influenza vaccine that contains higher doses of antigens may lead to greater immunogenicity in this population. Methods. We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial to compare the safety and immunogenicity of the 2016-2017 high-dose (HD; FluzoneHD, Sanofi) vs SD (Fluviral, GSK) influenza vaccine in adult SOTRs. Preimmunization and 4-week postimmunization sera underwent strain-specific hemagglutination inhibition assay. Results. We enrolled 172 patients who received study vaccine, and 161 (84 HD; 77 SD) were eligible for analysis. Seroconversion to at least 1 of 3 vaccine antigens was present in 78.6% vs 55.8% in HD vs SD vaccine groups (P<.001), respectively. Seroconversions to A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B strains were 40.5% vs 20.5%, 57.1% vs 32.5%, and 58.3% vs 41.6% in HD vs SD vaccine groups (P=.006, P=.002, P=.028, respectively). Post-immunization geometric mean titers of A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B strains were significantly higher in the HD group (P=.007, P=.002, P=.033). Independent factors associated with seroconversion to at least 1 vaccine strain were the use of HD vaccine (odds ratio [OR], 3.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-6.67) and use of mycophenolate doses < 2 g daily (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.12-6.76). Conclusions. HD vaccine demonstrated significantly better immunogenicity than SD vaccine in adult transplant recipients and may be the preferred influenza vaccine for this population.