WASHINGTON — Missed opportunities for immunizing asthmatic children occur frequently during the influenza season, as documented in a Michigan study, Kevin J. Dombkowski, Dr.P.H., and his colleagues reported in a poster presentation at the National Immunization Conference sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the study funded by the Michigan Department of Community Health, administrative claims and immunization registry records were analyzed for 5,993 children aged 5-18 years with persistent asthma who were continuously enrolled in the Michigan Medicaid program during 2001-2003, he reported.
In each year studied, 79% of the children had at least one office visit during the influenza season.
Yet, influenza vaccination had been documented for only 14% during the 2001-2002 season and 18% during the 2002-2003 season, with just 7% vaccinated in both seasons, said Dr. Dombkowski, who is senior research associate in the division of general pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Among children with no evidence of influenza vaccination, 77% had at least one missed opportunity in the 2001-2002 flu season and 75% in the 2002-2003 season, Dr. Dombkowski commented.
During both seasons, nearly all children (95%) with a missed opportunity had made at least one “sick” visit to an outpatient provider, and 22% had at least one preventive medicine visit, Dr. Dombkowski said in an interview.
A majority of the missed opportunities (55%) occurred October through November, the optimal period for influenza vaccination, while 77% occurred prior to February, the historical peak of flu season, he said.
“There's a lot of opportunity for improvement out there,” he told this newspaper.