Effect of a booster dose of influenza vaccine in patients with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and renal transplant recipients: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Booster influenza vaccination has been recommended for patients with chronic renal disease in order to enhance the immune response to the influenza vaccine; however, the efficacy of a booster influenza vaccination is a matter of controversy. Therefore, we made a meta-analysis to determine the efficacy in patients with hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD) and renal transplant recipient (RT). The sero-protection rate was used as a serologic parameter to describe the immune response to the vaccine. Statistical analysis was performed to calculate the pooled rate difference (RD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The pooled RD for the H1N1, H3N2 and B influenza vaccines was 0.02 (95% CI: −0.02-0.06), 0.05 (95% CI: −0.01-0.11), 0.04 (95% CI: −0.02-0.10), respectively. We concluded that a booster dose of the influenza vaccine did not effectively enhance immunogenicity. Therefore, a booster dose of vaccine is not recommended for patients with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and renal transplant recipients.