Protective effects of COVID‐19 vaccination in splenectomized patients with immune thrombocytopenia

Abstract

SummarySplenectomy is an effective treatment for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The effect of COVID‐19 vaccination on splenectomized patients with ITP during the COVID‐19 pandemic has not been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of COVID‐19 vaccination on clinical outcomes in these patients. This was a longitudinal study of splenectomized patients with ITP. A total of 191 splenectomized patients were included in this study. After a median follow‐up of 114 months, 146 (76.4%) patients had a sustained response to splenectomy. During COVID‐19 infection, vaccinated patients showed a lower risk of severe infections (odds ratio [OR], 0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05–0.36; p < 0.001), hospitalization (OR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04–0.48; p = 0.002), and ITP exacerbation (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04–0.67; p = 0.012). These findings indicate that COVID‐19 vaccination plays a protective role in splenectomized patients with ITP.