Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39469493›Full record

ArticleRheumatology advances in practice2024

The relationship between Zoster serology, vaccination uptake and infection rates: a single-centre cross-sectional study.

Saad Ahmed, Martin Lauran, Adaeze Ugwoke, Tom Walton, Chris Holroyd, James Galloway

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology advances in practice, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Saad AhmedDepartment of Rheumatology, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9829-2758
Martin LauranCentre for Rheumatic Disease, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7404-8988
Adaeze UgwokeDepartment of Rheumatology, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
Tom WaltonDepartment of Rheumatology, Colchester Hospital, Essex, UK.
Chris HolroydRheumatology Department, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
James GallowayCentre for Rheumatic Disease, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1230-2781

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) immunity, vaccination uptake and incidence of VZV-related events in inflammatory arthritis (IA) patients initiating biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Methods: An observational study was conducted in a single hospital between March 2019 and December 2020. Ninety-three IA patients were included. Data were collected from electronic health records and analysed using the chi-squared test. Results: The majority of patients (91.4%) were seropositive for VZV, reaffirming the necessity for vaccination. In total, 8.6% of the cohort received the Zostavax vaccine, despite a small yet significant number of patients (4.3%) experiencing Herpes Zoster after initiating treatment. Multiple factors contributed to low vaccine uptake, including limited vaccine availability, discrepancies between the British Society for Rheumatology and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation guidelines, vaccine hesitancy and concerns regarding vaccine efficacy and risks. Discussion: Significant VZV immunity exists among patients prior to targeted therapy commencement. Risk factors for VZV-related events include Janus kinase inhibition, increasing age and long-term steroid use. VZV-related events occurred exclusively in patients with prior viral immunity. Despite most patients having serological evidence of prior VZV exposure, our study exposes critical gaps between current clinical guidelines and practice, particularly in VZV vaccine uptake. Barriers to vaccination include inconsistent guidelines, limited vaccine availability and patient-level hesitancy. This is concerning as our cohort demonstrated small but significant rates of zoster, mostly among patients on long-term steroids.

Indexed as

Herpes ZosterJanus kinase inhibitorsvaccination

Identifiers

PMID39469493
PMCPMC11513334

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.