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Importance of Vaccinating Immunocompromised Children

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Vaccination of Immunosuppressed Children in Clinical Practice

Part of the book series: In Clinical Practice ((ICP))

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Abstract

This chapter provides an overview on how the immune system works, the anatomical and physiological barriers, and the innate and adaptive immune response. We discuss how the immune system can be affected with primary or acquired immunodeficiency secondary to an infectious agent, an underlying state (e.g. malnutrition, obesity, young age, prematurity), an underlying disease (e.g. dysimmune disorders, hyposplenia, diabetes mellitus, chronic organ failure), or medication. Medications can affect the immune system either as an undesirable side effect (e.g. chemotherapy, drug-induced neutropenia) or intentionally in conditions in which the immune response has to be restrained (e.g. management of dysimmune disorders, allergic disorders, solid organ transplant, or induced graft-versus-host disease). For each of these conditions, we discuss which part of the immune response is affected and consequently to which infection they predispose. This is followed by a review of the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases in immunocompromised children and the challenge of vaccination in this vulnerable population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Paediatrics, Immunology-Vaccinology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

    Geraldine Blanchard-Rohner & Laure F. Pittet

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  1. Geraldine Blanchard-Rohner
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  2. Laure F. Pittet
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Correspondence to Geraldine Blanchard-Rohner .

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Blanchard-Rohner, G., Pittet, L.F. (2022). Importance of Vaccinating Immunocompromised Children. In: Vaccination of Immunosuppressed Children in Clinical Practice . In Clinical Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04844-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04844-9_1

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