Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and pneumonia are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and asthma is the most common chronic disease in children.

A new study published in Pediatrics evaluated the risk of IPD or pneumonia among children with asthma after the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs).

The present study entailed searches from four electronic databases. Selected articles were cohorts or case-control studies of IPD and pneumonia in populations who already received PCV (largely 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine), but not 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide, in which authors reported data for children with asthma and in which healthy controls were included.

The findings revealed that children with asthma had 90% higher odds of IPD than healthy controls. Pneumonia was also more frequent among children with asthma than among controls. While one study reported that pneumonia-associated costs increased by asthma severity.

The results suggested that despite PCV vaccination, children with asthma continue to have a higher risk of IPD than children without asthma. Hence, it was stated that further research is needed to assess the need for supplemental 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination in children with asthma, regardless of their use of oral steroids.