LAUSR

OBJECTIVES To analyze compliance with vaccination against hepatitis A virus (HAV) in patients followed in general and pediatric practices in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study included 7,323 patients from 575 general practices and 3,962 patients from 111 pediatric practices. Patients were included if they had received the first dose of one of the two following vaccines against HAV: Havrix® or Vaqta®, between 2011 and 2014. The immunization schedule of these vaccines consisted of two injections. Patients were considered compliant if they received the second dose at the recommended time or within a period of ± 25% around the recommended time (tolerance period). RESULTS Of the recruited patients, 61.1% received the second vaccine injection within the tolerance period. Individuals treated in pediatric practices had a higher likelihood of receiving the vaccine dose within the tolerance period compared to individuals treated in general practices (OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.06 - 1.35; p = 0.005). Furthermore, patients under the age of 18 years were more likely to be compliant than patients over the age of 30 years (OR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.40 - 1.68; p < 0.001), while patients between 18 and 30 years (OR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.77 - 0.93; p < 0.001) were the least likely to be compliant. CONCLUSION Compliance with complete vaccination against HAV was low.
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