Abstract

GARRIDO, Ana  and  FERREIRA, Clara Pinto. Varicella vaccine in children. Rev Port Med Geral Fam [online]. 2012, vol.28, n.2, pp.116-124. ISSN 2182-5173.

Objectives: To review the available evidence for varicella vaccination in healthy children, analyzing its effectiveness and safety. Data sources: MEDLINE database and evidence-based medicine websites. Methods: A search was conducted for guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and original studies, published between January 2005 and November 2009, in English, Portuguese and Spanish, using the MeSH terms chickenpox vaccine, infant, child preschool and child. The SORT (Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy) scale of the American Family Physician was applied to evaluate the level of evidence. Results: We found 14 studies that assessed vaccine effectiveness: 5 guidelines (2 with strength of recommendation A) 3 systematic reviews (2 with evidence level 1), one meta-analysis (evidence level 1), a case-control study and 4 cohort studies. Studies showed that the vaccine has an effectiveness of 70 to 90% in preventing all forms of varicella and 95 to 100% in preventing moderate to severe disease, over a period not exceeding ten years. The two-dose regimen showed greater long-term effectiveness than the single dose regimen. Two studies evaluating vaccine safety concluded that the vaccine is safe and well tolerated (one randomized controlled trial with evidence level 1). Conclusion: Varicella vaccine is effective and safe in healthy children (Strength of Recommendation A). However, its implementation should be universal, to allow a high coverage rate, considering the possibility of a two-dose regimen.

Keywords : Chickenpox vaccine; Infant; Child, Preschool; Child.

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