Aims: To evaluate the immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of the bivalent HPV vaccine in female patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Methods: Twenty-one patients with JIA aged 12-25 years and 21 healthy controls were enrolled and received three doses of the bivalent HPV vaccine.
Results: All of the subjects were seronegative at baseline and seroconverted after the scheduled doses. The JIA patients showed significantly lower HPV16 neutralising antibody titres than controls 1 month after the administration of the third dose (p < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed in HPV18 neutralising antibody titres. Local and systemic reactions were similarly frequent in the patients and controls, and there were no significant changes in 27-joint juvenile arthritis disease activity score or laboratory tests.
Conclusion: The bivalent HPV vaccine is safe in patients with stable JIA and regardless of the use of medications the vaccine assures an adequate degree of protection for a certain time.
Keywords: HPV; autoimmune disease; bivalent papillomavirus vaccine; juvenile idiopathic arthritis; papillomavirus vaccine; rheumatological disease.