The Effect of Previous Pneumococcal Immunization on the Immune Response of Patients With Severe CKD to Prevnar 13

Patients with severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at a great risk for infection due to their immune system being suppressed. Pneumococcal infection is particularly common and often results in death due to inflammation of lung (pneumonia) or the whole body (sepsis). This infection can be prevented using vaccines which help build protective immunity. The currently recommended pneumococcal vaccine (Pneumovax), however, is often inefficient in this group of patients. There is thus an urgent need to improve the existing vaccination policy. The goal of this research is to optimize pneumococcal vaccination of patients with severe CKD. Many patients suffering from CKD have already been vaccinated with Pneumovax. Because this vaccine has low immunogenicity in immunocompromised individuals, they may still develop infection. A new vaccine, Prevnar13, has superior immunogenicity and has been recently approved for immunization. There is, however, no specific policy regarding immunization of adult CKD patients, and it is furthermore unknown whether previous Pneumovax immunization negatively affects immune response to Prevnar13. In order to test whether previous immunization with Pneumovax affects the immune response of severe CKD patients to Prevnar 13, the investigators will immunize two groups of adult stage 4 and 5 CKD patients with one dose of Prevnar 13 and will assess their initial immunological response, its longevity, and vaccine safety. The first group will consist of patients who had been previously immunized with Pneumovax, and the second group will include participants with no history of pneumococcal vaccination. Antibody levels and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) will be quantified. The longevity of the immune response will be assessed. As a secondary objective, the immune response will be analyzed in the context of demographic and clinical characteristics of the vaccinated participants.