Table 3. Characteristics of Participants by Antibody Response to Posttransplant Live Vaccines.
| Variablea | No./total No. (%) | P valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the level of protection | Equal to or above the level of protection | ||
| Varicella antibody response (n = 149) | |||
| Age at transplant, median (IQR), y | 0.8 (0.5-1.3) | 1.0 (0.6-1.9) | .36c |
| Time between transplant and study enrollment, median (IQR), y | 4.7 (2.4-11.1) | 6.6 (4.1-10.6) | .09c |
| Patient received VZV vaccine before transplant | 15/42 (36) | 40/107 (37) | .85 |
| Epstein-Barr virus PCR (n = 131) | |||
| Negative or <2000 IU/mL | 36/37 (97) | 83/94 (88) | .18d |
| ≥2000 IU/mL | 1/37 (3) | 11/94 (12) | |
| Age-appropriate level of ALC (n = 137) | 38/39 (97) | 98/98 (100) | .28d |
| Immunosuppression level (n = 146)e | |||
| High | 7/42 (17) | 15/104 (14) | .73 |
| Medium or low | 35/42 (83) | 89/104 (86) | |
| No. of VZV vaccines received | |||
| 1 | 19/42 (45) | 33/107 (31) | .02 |
| 2 | 16/42 (38) | 67/107 (63) | |
| 3 | 7/42 (17) | 7/107 (7) | |
| Measles antibody response (n = 152) | |||
| Age at transplant, median (IQR), y | 1.0 (0.8-1.3) | 1.0 (0.6-1.6) | .58c |
| Time between transplant and study enrollment, median (IQR), y | 5.6 (3.5-10.0) | 7.6 (4.7-11.2) | .28c |
| Patient received MMR vaccine before transplant | 11/22 (50) | 43/130 (33) | .13 |
| Epstein-Barr virus PCR (n = 123) | |||
| Negative or<2000 IU/mL | 16/16 (100) | 98/107 (92) | .60d |
| ≥2000 IU/mL | 0/16 | 9/107 (8) | |
| Age-appropriate level of ALC (n = 145) | 20/21 (95) | 122/124 (98) | .38d |
| Immunosuppression level (n = 150)e | |||
| High | 5/22 (23) | 10/128 (8) | .047d |
| Medium or low | 17/22 (77) | 118/128 (92) | |
| No. of MMR vaccines received | |||
| 1 | 8/22 (36) | 65/130 (50) | .12 |
| 2 | 10/22 (45) | 57/130 (44) | |
| 3 | 4/22 (18) | 8/130 (6) | |
| Mumps antibody response (n = 120) | |||
| Age at transplant, median (IQR), y | 1.0 (0.7-1.5) | 1.0 (0.6-1.6) | .76c |
| Time between transplant and study enrollment, median (IQR), y | 9.6 (4.2-14.7) | 6.7 (4.3-11.1) | .38c |
| Patient received MMR vaccine before transplant | 5/20 (25) | 34/100 (34) | .43 |
| Epstein-Barr virus PCR (n = 107) | |||
| Negative or <2000 IU/mL | 15/17 (88) | 84/90 (93) | .61d |
| ≥2000 IU/mL | 2/17 (12) | 6/90 (7) | |
| Age-appropriate level of ALC (n = 111) | 19/19 (100) | 91/92 (99) | .99d |
| Immunosuppression level (n = 118)e | |||
| High | 3/19 (16) | 13/99 (13) | .72d |
| Medium or low | 16/19 (84) | 86/99 (87) | |
| No. of MMR vaccines received | |||
| 1 | 7/20 (35) | 48/100 (48) | .56 |
| 2 | 11/20 (55) | 43/100 (43) | |
| 3 | 2/20 (10) | 9/100 (9) | |
Abbreviations: ALC, absolute lymphocyte count; MMR, mumps-measles-rubella; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; VZV, varicella-zoster virus.
a
Rubella comparisons not included as all but 1 participant had a positive response to vaccination.
b
χ2 Test unless otherwise noted.
c
Mann-Whitney U test.
d
Fisher exact test.
e
Low immunosuppression: monotherapy with tacrolimus (trough <5 ng/mL), sirolimus (trough <5 ng/mL), or cyclosporine (trough <100 ng/mL). Medium immunosuppression: 2 or fewer agents or tacrolimus plus sirolimus trough between 5 and 8 ng/mL or steroids <0.5 mg/kg per dose. High immunosuppression: 3 or more agents or tacrolimus plus sirolimus trough >8 ng/mL or steroids ≥0.5 mg/kg/d.