Evaluation of pretransplant influenza vaccination in hematopoietic SCT: a randomized prospective study

Pretransplant influenza vaccination of the donor or allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) candidate was evaluated in a randomized study. One hundred and twenty-two HSCT recipients and their donors were assigned to three randomization groups: no pretransplant vaccination (n=38), donor pretransplant vaccination (n=44) or recipient pretransplant vaccination (n=40). Specific IgG was assessed by both hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) and, in 57 patients, by an indirect influenza-specific ELISA at specified times after HSCT. Vaccinated donors had seroprotective HI titers for Ags H1 and H3 (P<0.001) compared with the other groups at the time of donation. The titers against H1 (P=0.028) and H3 (P<0.001) were highest in the pretransplant recipient vaccination group until day 180 after transplantation. A significant difference was found in the specific Ig levels against pandemic H1N1 at 6 months after SCT (P=0.02). The mean IgG levels against pandemic H1N1 and generic H1N1 and H3N2 were highest in the pretransplant recipient vaccination group. We conclude that pretransplant recipient vaccination improved the influenza-specific seroprotection rates.