By Ethan Covey
HPV vaccination rates among people with HIV may be low, especially among patients who may have “aged” according to HPV recommendations, according to data presented at IDWeek 2023.
"The HPV vaccine is recommended for all adults with HIV up to age 26, and is recommended as a shared clinical decision for those between ages 27 and 45 who did not previously receive the appropriate vaccine," said lead author Tat Yau, MD, assistant professor at LSU Health, New Orleans.
The study sought to evaluate HPV vaccination rates among patients in the HIV outpatient program (HOP) at the University Medical Center of New Orleans. Vaccination records of patients aged 18 to 45 who attended the infectious diseases fellowship clinic during 2022 were analyzed.
Among patients under 27 years of age, 71% had completed their HPV vaccination series, a figure lower than the 80% recommended by the Healthy People 2020 initiative. In addition, 19% of these patients had an incomplete vaccination status and 10% had no history of having received any HPV vaccine.
Vaccination rates were much lower for older patients. Only 38% of people between 27 and 45 years old had completed their HPV vaccination series. 18% had a record of partial vaccination, and 45% had no record.
“We realized that our EMR [electronic medical records] system often labels those patients as ‘older adults’ for HPV vaccines,” Dr. Yau said. “They are still eligible and should get vaccinated, though.”
Overall, Dr. Yau said that vaccination compliance among patients was not ideal.
“These results led the institution to launch a new quality improvement project in HOP to address HPV vaccination,” she added. “This ongoing intervention will focus on educating all HOP providers on vaccination recommendations and updating the reminder of gaps in health maintenance care in our EMR.”