Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Turner Syndrome (TS) is associated with a higher overall morbidity and mortality than the general population, with respiratory diseases as one of the major causes. Haemophilus influenza type B (HiB) and pneumococcal (PC) vaccination can reduce morbidity and mortality, by alleviating the risk of respiratory diseases. All patients in the Newcastle Adult Turner Syndrome clinic who lack immunity to either HiB or PC at baseline receive vaccination in our TS clinic. However, the response rate following vaccination has not hitherto been examined.

Methods: We prospectively examined the response rate to HiB and PC vaccination among a cohort of 100 consecutive adult women with TS. In our laboratory, the antibody titres at the protective range were 1–20 and 20–200 mg/L, for HiB and PC antigens, respectively. Patients with titres below these lower limits were considered to have inadequate immunity and vaccination was administered in primary care (Pneumovax or Menitorix).

Results: A total of 96 eligible TS patients aged ≥18 years were reported. The median age and BMI were 31.5 (24.8–45.0) years and 26.1 (23.2–30.7) kg/m², respectively. At baseline, 54.2% (52/96) and 18.8% (18/96) of patients had inadequate antibody response to HiB and PC vaccines, respectively. Intriguingly, 27.5% (14/51) patients in the former and 38.9% (7/18) in the latter, also had a low IgM level (<0.71). Furthermore, 7.8% (4/51) and 16.7% (3/18) had a low IgG level (<5.8), respectively.

Conclusions: The prevalence of protective antibodies to HiB and PC among adult women with TS were low in this cohort, underpinning the importance of screening and vaccination to achieve protective titres, thereby potentially reducing related morbidity and mortality.