Background: Otitis media in young children is associated with major resource use including antimicrobial consumption and tympanostomy tube placements (TTPs). We evaluated the impact of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) introduction into the Finnish National Vaccination Programme (NVP) against these outcomes in vaccine-eligible children.
Methods: PCV10-NVP began September 2010 with a 2 + 1 schedule; uptake in 2012 was estimated at 92%. The relative and absolute reduction in the NVP-eligible target cohort was compared with a season and age-matched (3-54 months) cohort before NVP introduction. Outpatient antimicrobial purchase data were collected from the Social Insurance Institution register. Data on purchases of antimicrobials recommended for treatment of acute otitis media by the Finnish Current Care Guidelines (amoxicillin with/without enzyme inhibitor, cefuroxime, cefaclor, clarithromycin, azithromycin) were collected, but full data on penicillin and sulfadiazine/trimethoprim were not available. Data on all TTP procedures were obtained from national hospital discharge register and Social Insurance Institution benefits register. Generalized Cox regression was used in the analysis.
Results: The incidence rates of antimicrobial purchases in the reference and target cohorts were 1.09 and 0.89 per person-year, respectively. The relative rate reduction was 17.5% (95% confidence interval: 17.0-18.1) and the absolute rate reduction 0.20 per person-year. The rates of TTP in the reference and target cohorts were 5.41/100 and 4.56/100 person-years, respectively. The relative rate reduction was 14.8% (95% confidence interval: 13.1-16.5) and the absolute rate reduction 0.86/100 person-years.
Conclusions: Use of antimicrobials and TTPs reduced after PCV10 was introduced into a routine vaccination program. This suggests considerable savings in health care resource use.