Missed Opportunities for Influenza Vaccination Among Hospitalized Children With Influenza at a Tertiary Care Facility

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To identify the extent and characteristics of missed opportunities for influenza vaccination among children hospitalized with influenza at a tertiary children’s hospital. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients with polymerase chain reaction–confirmed influenza admitted to Children’s Hospital Colorado from 2010 to 2014. We reviewed medical records for vaccination status and previous visits. The primary outcome was the proportion of underimmunized patients hospitalized with influenza with at least 1 missed opportunity visit (visit before influenza diagnosis in which an eligible patient did not receive the influenza vaccine). The relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and the primary outcome were examined using χ2 tests and nonparametric tests, and variables with P < .2 were entered into a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS: Among 322 patients hospitalized with influenza, 199 (61%) were undervaccinated; 83 of 199 (42%) had at least 1 missed opportunity for influenza vaccination. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that high-risk status (adjusted odds ratio 6.9, 95% confidence interval 3.8–12.4) was associated with increased odds of having a missed opportunity visit. Most missed opportunity visits were to subspecialty clinics (42%), and most visits (71%) occurred from September to November. CONCLUSIONS: More than 40% of hospitalizations for influenza in children are associated with at least 1 missed opportunity visit at a tertiary center. Our findings highlight the potential role of tertiary care institutions in increasing influenza vaccination rates among children.