Person:

Hinrichsen, Virginia L

We estimated cost-effectiveness of annually vaccinating children not at high risk with inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) to range from US $12,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved for children ages 6–23 months to $119,000 per QALY saved for children ages 12–17 years. For children at high risk (preexisting medical conditions) ages 6–35 months, vaccination with IIV was cost saving. For children at high risk ages 3–17 years, vaccination cost $1,000–$10,000 per QALY. Among children not at high risk ages 5–17 years, live, attenuated influenza vaccine had a similar cost-effectiveness as IIV. Risk status was more important than age in determining the economic effects of annual vaccination, and vaccination was less cost-effective as the child's age increased. Thus, routine vaccination of all children is likely less cost-effective than vaccination of all children ages 6–23 months plus all other children at high risk.

Background: Spatial global clustering tests can be used to evaluate the geographical distribution of health outcomes. The power of several of these tests has been evaluated and compared using simulated data, but their performance using real unadjusted data and data adjusted for individual- and area-level covariates has not been reported previously. We evaluated data on prostate cancer histologic tumor grade and stage of disease at diagnosis for incident cases of prostate cancer reported to the Maryland Cancer Registry during 1992–1997. We analyzed unadjusted data as well as expected counts from models that were adjusted for individual- level covariates (race, age and year of diagnosis) and area-level covariates (census block group median household income and a county-level socioeconomic index). We chose 3 spatial clustering tests that are commonly used to evaluate the geographic distribution of disease: Cuzick-Edwards' k-NN (k-Nearest Neighbors) test, Moran's I and Tango's MEET (Maximized Excess Events Test). Results: For both grade and stage at diagnosis, we found that Cuzick-Edwards' k-NN and Moran's I were very sensitive to the percent of population parameter selected. For stage at diagnosis, all three tests showed that the models with individual- and area-level adjustments reduced clustering the most, but did not reduce it entirely. Conclusion: Based on this specific example, results suggest that these tests provide useful tools for evaluating spatial clustering of disease characteristics, both before and after consideration of covariates.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has risen dramatically in the U.S., particularly among children. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization has been inversely associated with S. aureus colonization in unvaccinated children, this and other risk factors for S. aureus carriage have not been assessed following widespread use of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). Our objectives were to (1) determine the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA colonization in young children in the context of widespread use of PCV7; and (2) examine risk factors for S. aureus colonization in the post-PCV7 era, including the absence of vaccine-type S. pneumoniae colonization. METHODS: Swabs of the anterior nares (S. aureus) were obtained from children enrolled in an ongoing study of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal colonization of healthy children in 8 Massachusetts communities. Children 3 months to <7 years of age seen for well child or sick visits in primary care offices from 11/03-4/04 and 10/06-4/07 were enrolled. S. aureus was identified and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed. Epidemiologic risk factors for S. aureus colonization were collected from parent surveys and chart reviews, along with data on pneumococcal colonization. Multivariate mixed model analyses were performed to identify factors associated with S. aureus colonization. RESULTS: Among 1,968 children, the mean age (SD) was 2.7 (1.8) years, 32% received an antibiotic in the past 2 months, 2% were colonized with PCV7 strains and 24% were colonized with non-PCV7 strains. The prevalence of S. aureus colonization remained stable between 2003-04 and 2006-07 (14.6% vs. 14.1%), while MRSA colonization remained low (0.2% vs. 0.9%, p = 0.09). Although absence of pneumococcal colonization was not significantly associated with S. aureus colonization, age (6-11 mo vs. > or =5 yrs, OR 0.39 [95% CI 0.24-0.64]; 1-1.99 yrs vs. > or =5 yrs, OR 0.35 [0.23-0.54]; 2-2.99 yrs vs. > or =5 yrs, OR 0.45 [0.28-0.73]; 3-3.99 yrs vs. > or =5 yrs, OR 0.53 [0.33-0.86]) and recent antibiotic use were significant predictors in multivariate models. CONCLUSION: In Massachusetts, S. aureus and MRSA colonization remained stable from 2003-04 to 2006-07 among children <7 years despite widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. S. aureus nasal colonization varies by age and is inversely correlated with recent antibiotic use.