A 5‐year longitudinal follow‐up study of serological responses to 23‐valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination among patients with HIV infection who received highly active antiretroviral therapy

Background Long‐term antibody responses to 23‐valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) among HIV‐infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) are rarely investigated. Methods Antibody responses to three pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides [Pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPS) 14, 19F and 23F] were assessed among 169 HIV‐infected patients who received HAART and 23‐valent PPV. Patients were stratified into four groups according to CD4 count at vaccination: group 1, CD4100 cells/μL at vaccination and achieved better virological suppression throughout the 5‐year period, while the absolute increases of CD4 cell counts after HAART were not statistically significantly different. Conclusions Despite continued increases in CD4 cell counts after HAART, the proportion of HIV‐infected patients who maintained antibody responses to PPV declined significantly over the 5‐year follow‐up period, especially among those who had CD4 counts