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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, November 2007, p. 4001-4008, Vol. 51, No. 11
0066-4804/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AAC.00517-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Kentucky Pediatric Research, Bardstown, Kentucky,1 Primary Physicians Research, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,2 MedImmune, Gaithersburg, Maryland3
Received 19 April 2007/ Returned for modification 14 June 2007/ Accepted 17 August 2007
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Annual vaccination with influenza vaccine is the most effective method of influenza prevention. Injectable trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) has been used for many decades and has variable efficacies against homologous and antigenically drifted strains of influenza viruses, particularly in young children (10, 12, 13). In a recent review of five clinical trials, the pooled efficacy of TIVs was reported to be only 63% (95% confidence interval [CI], 45% to 70%) in children younger than 9 years of age (30). Furthermore, a lack of protection against frequently occurring antigenically drifted influenza virus strains presents a significant challenge to the universal application of TIVs (7).
Intranasally administered live attenuated influenza vaccines induce local and systemic antibodies and cellular immune responses to multiple influenza virus proteins and have the potential to elicit broader immunity against drifted influenza virus strains than TIVs do (3, 6, 19, 20, 27). Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV; FluMist; MedImmune, Gaithersburg, MD) has been approved in the United States for use in healthy children and adults aged 2 to 49 years (FluMist, Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal, 2007, MedImmune, Gaithersburg, MD). Studies with LAIV have shown significant efficacy in preventing influenza, including influenza caused by antigenically drifted strains (4, 22).
Originally licensed in the United States for healthy persons 5 to 49 years of age, the frozen formulation of LAIV was recently replaced with a refrigerated formulation, referred to as cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent (CAIV-T). This new formulation is more convenient for the end user, no longer requiring freezer space and using refrigerator storage for the intranasal spray applicators. In addition, the volume delivered at vaccination has been reduced from 0.25 ml to 0.1 ml per nostril. In clinical trials with children aged 6 months to 17 years, CAIV-T demonstrated a significantly greater relative efficacy compared with those of TIVs in preventing culture-confirmed influenza (1, 2, 9). Our study was designed to compare the immunogenicities and safety of CAIV-T and LAIV in healthy children and adults 5 to 49 years of age.
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Subjects. We enrolled children and adults 5 to 49 years of age who were in good health, as confirmed by their medical histories and physical examinations. Exclusion criteria included serious chronic disease (including asthma or reactive airway disease); any metabolic disorder; known or suspected disease of the immune system, current receipt of immunosuppressive therapy, or the presence of an immunosuppressed or immunocompromised individual in the same household; receipt of any blood products within the previous 90 days through the study conclusion; previous receipt of any influenza vaccine (children 5 to 8 years of age only); for women, pregnancy, breast-feeding, or lactation; a documented history of hypersensitivity to egg, egg protein, or any other component of LAIV or CAIV-T; a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome; receipt of aspirin or aspirin-containing products within the 30 days before enrollment (children <18 years of age); receipt of any live vaccine within 30 days before enrollment or anticipated receipt within 30 days of study vaccination; receipt of any inactivated vaccine within 2 weeks before enrollment or anticipated receipt within 2 weeks of study vaccination; and participation in another investigational study or receipt of any investigational agent from 30 days before enrollment to the conclusion of the study.
Study design.
This prospective, phase III, randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial was conducted at 26 sites in the United States. Vaccine doses were administered between 23 July 2004 and 1 November 2004, with follow-up continuing through 13 May 2005. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines for good clinical practice. The study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board at each site. Written informed consent was obtained from the parent or legal guardian for subjects <18 years of age or from each subject if he or she was
18 years of age.
Subjects were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive CAIV-T or LAIV by using a computer-generated randomization schedule with a fixed block size of four, and each study site received vaccine packaged in complete blocks. Randomization was stratified by age (5 to 8 years and 9 to 49 years) to account for differences in baseline serostatus and because the vaccination schedule was age related. Subjects 5 to 8 years of age received two doses of LAIV or CAIV-T 46 to 60 days apart. Subjects 9 to 49 years of age received a single dose of study vaccine. Subjects, their parents or guardians, and the clinical site staff evaluating the subjects (including the investigators, study nurses, and coordinators) were blinded to the treatment group. However, because of obvious volume differences between the doses of CAIV-T and LAIV, the personnel administering study vaccine were unblinded to the treatment but did not participate in subject evaluation.
The study was conducted during the spring, after the 2003-2004 influenza season, and, thus, two of the three vaccine strains did not match the coverage recommendations for the following 2004-2005 influenza season. Subsequently, at the start of the 2004-2005 influenza season, all subjects were offered the updated influenza vaccine.
Study evaluations. Immunogenicity was evaluated by measuring strain-specific serum hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titers to each of the A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B influenza virus strains contained in the vaccine. Serum samples were collected immediately before the first dose of study vaccine and 28 to 35 days after the last dose of study vaccine. Serum HAI testing was performed by MedImmune using standard laboratory assays with techniques that have been described previously (14, 15, 24).
Reactogenicity events (REs), adverse events (AEs), and the use of concomitant medicine were monitored by the subjects or their parents or guardians on daily worksheets for 28 days after each vaccine dose. REs were predefined as fever (temperatures,
100.0°F oral,
100.6°F rectal, or
99.6°F axillary), runny nose or nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, vomiting, headache, muscle ache, chills, decreased activity, or irritability. After unblinding of the treatments, the definition of fever was changed to >100.0°F to be consistent with the package insert for LAIV. An AE was defined as any adverse change from the study subject's baseline condition that occurred within 28 days postvaccination. Serious AEs (SAEs) were defined as events that resulted in death, were life-threatening, resulted in hospitalization or prolonged hospitalization, resulted in significant disability or incapacity, or were another important medical event that required intervention to prevent one of these outcomes. Significant new medical conditions (SNMCs) included newly diagnosed chronic medical conditions not considered by the investigator to be SAEs. The subjects were monitored for SAEs and SNMCs from the time of initial vaccination through the end of the study (for approximately 180 days after the final vaccination).
Study end points.
The primary efficacy end point was the immunogenicity of CAIV-T and LAIV, as measured by strain-specific serum HAI titers to each of the three influenza vaccine strains. Immunogenicity was considered equivalent when the 95% CIs for the ratios of the postvaccination strain-specific geometric mean titers (GMTs) for serum HAI in the CAIV-T group relative to those in the LAIV group were greater than 0.5 but less than 2.0 for each of the three influenza virus vaccine strains, regardless of the baseline serostatus. Secondary efficacy end points included the proportion of subjects who achieved strain-specific seroconversion (defined as a fourfold of greater increase in antibody titer compared with that at the baseline in subjects who were seronegative at the baseline), the proportion of subjects who achieved a strain-specific seroresponse (defined as a fourfold or greater increase in antibody titer compared with that at the baseline, regardless of baseline serostatus), and the proportion of subjects with a strain-specific HAI titer of
1:32 1 month after vaccination. Historically, a postvaccination titer of
1:32 has been accepted as a correlate for protection against influenza for individuals receiving TIVs (21). Subjects 5 to 8 years of age with baseline serum strain-specific HAI titers of
1:4 were considered seronegative, and those with baseline HAI titers of >1:4 were considered seropositive. Most people
9 years of age have been naturally exposed to the three major human influenza virus subtypes, and few are truly seronegative. Therefore, subjects 9 to 49 years of age with baseline strain-specific serum HAI titers
1:8 were considered serosusceptible rather than seronegative to indicate that despite measurable prevaccination antibody titers, these titers were low and not likely to be protective. Safety end points included the incidence of AEs and REs within 28 days after each study vaccination and SAEs and SNMCs from the time of enrollment through the completion of the study.
Statistical analysis. Sample size calculations were based on assumed standard deviations (loge values) of 1.5 and 1.7 for the three influenza virus vaccine strains in the 5- to 8-year-old and 9- to 49-year-old cohorts, respectively, and a subject discontinuation rate of 10% in each group. Sample sizes of 195 (5- to 8-year-old cohort) and 250 (9- to 49-year-old cohort) per treatment group were estimated to provide at least a 95% power to exclude a twofold or greater difference in postvaccination GMTs for serum HAI determinations for all three influenza virus vaccine strains among all subjects, independent of baseline serostatus.
Three populations were defined: intent to treat (ITT; all randomized subjects for whom data were available), immunogenicity (all subjects who received required doses of study vaccination per protocol and had valid HAI assay results at all relevant time points), and safety (all subjects who received any dose of study vaccine).
Immunogenicity analyses were based on the immunogenicity population within each cohort. A two-level categorical stratification factor for serostatus was employed to control for the influence of this factor. CIs for each age cohort and vaccine strain were constructed by using a percentile-based bootstrap method (8). CAIV-T was declared to have immunogenicity equivalent to that of LAIV if the lower and upper bounds of the 95% CIs for the strain-specific GMT ratios (CAIV-T/LAIV) after the final dose were greater than 0.5 and less than 2.0. Secondary end points were evaluated by the use of two-sided 95% CIs for the proportions presented to allow population estimates within each treatment group.
Comparison of the rates of incidence of REs and AEs between CAIV-T recipients and LAIV recipients was performed by using Fisher's exact test. No adjustments were made for multiple comparisons.
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FIG. 1. Participant flow, including reasons for withdrawal and exclusion from the immunogenicity analysis. PD, postdose; a, all randomized subjects for whom data are available; b, the reasons for exclusion are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
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TABLE 1. Characteristics of study participants (ITT population)
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1:4) in the CAIV-T and LAIV groups were the highest for the influenza B virus strain (80% and 74%, respectively) and the lowest for the H3N2 strain (5% and 6%, respectively). For subjects aged 9 to 49 years, the proportions of baseline serosusceptible subjects (HAI titers,
1:8) in the CAIV-T and LAIV groups were similar for the influenza B virus (59% and 62%, respectively) and H1N1 (61% and 62%, respectively) strains and were the lowest for the H3N2 strain (19% and 23%, respectively). Baseline GMTs were higher against H3N2 than against the other influenza virus strains in both cohorts and treatment groups. |
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TABLE 2. Baseline strain-specific HAI titer distributions
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1:32 against each of the three influenza virus strains; the relationship between HAI titer levels and protection from influenza has not been established for LAIV (Fig. 3). |
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TABLE 3. Summary of postvaccination strain-specific GMT ratios
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FIG. 2. Seroconversion/seroresponse rates by a fourfold or greater rise in HAI titer. (A) Results for the 5- to 8-year-old cohort; (B) results for the 9- to 49-year-old cohort.
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FIG. 3. Proportion of subjects with postvaccination HAI titers of 1:32. (A) Results for the 5- to 8-year-old cohort; (B) results for the 9- to 49-year-old cohort.
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5 percentage points reported more frequently by CAIV-T recipients than LAIV recipients were also observed for runny nose/nasal congestion (41% and 29%, respectively; P < 0.05), sore throat (22% and 12%, respectively; P < 0.05), vomiting (12% and 6%, respectively; not significant), chills (7% and <1%, respectively; P < 0.01), and decreased activity level (15% and 10%, respectively; not significant). In the 9- to 49-year-old cohort, headaches were significantly more frequent in the CAIV-T group (44% versus 34% in the LAIV group; P < 0.05). Few subjects in either group experienced a temperature >103°F. |
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TABLE 4. REs occurring within 0 to 28 days after doses 1 and 2
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TABLE 5. AEs reported in 1% of subjects 0 to 28 days after doses 1 and 2a
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Because this study was conducted off season to limit potential confounding effects of possible exposure to circulating influenza viruses, it was not possible to compare the clinical efficacies of the two vaccines in preventing influenza illness. However, recent studies have shown that, compared with TIV, CAIV-T reduced the number of cases of culture-confirmed influenza by 35% to 55% in children 6 months to 17 years of age (1, 2, 9). In addition, live attenuated influenza vaccines have been shown to be effective against antigenically drifted influenza A virus strains. In children 6 to 59 months of age, the relative efficacy of CAIV-T was 79% compared with that of TIV against influenza A/H3N2 strains that were antigenically distinct from the vaccine strains (2). This finding is consistent with those of earlier studies with young children in which LAIV was up to 86% effective against antigenically drifted influenza virus strains that were not contained in the vaccine (3, 4, 19). In contrast, a recent study with adults concluded that LAIV was as effective as TIV against influenza A virus strains but less effective against influenza B virus strains during a season in which circulating A/H3N2 and B viruses were antigenically distinct from the vaccine strains (23). However, on the basis of relative efficacy estimates, the overall advantage of TIV over LAIV was not significant in adults in the study.
Multiple immune mechanisms influence protection from influenza virus, including serum HAI and neutralizing antibodies, mucosal antibodies, and cell-mediated immune responses (27). The ability of the intranasal LAIV and CAIV-T vaccines to elicit immune responses that recognize antigenically drifted influenza virus strains is probably a function of the diverse immunologic mechanisms stimulated with live vaccines. Whereas inactivated and attenuated influenza vaccines elicit comparable serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses in seronegative children, mucosal IgA and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses are greater after immunization with intranasal live vaccines than after immunization with injectable inactivated vaccines (6, 20).
In this study, the incidence of any RE was slightly higher among the recipients of CAIV-T than among the recipients of LAIV in both age cohorts. However, the rates for individual REs were similar (±5%) for the two vaccine formulations within each age cohort. In addition, the rates of REs were consistent or lower than those observed in previous studies with LAIV and CAIV-T in children and adults (5, 9, 15, 16, 18, 22, 26). Similarly, the number of subjects reporting AEs or SAEs was comparable between the two vaccine groups within each cohort.
This study has demonstrated the equivalent immunogenicity of CAIV-T, a recently licensed refrigerated formulation of LAIV, to that of the frozen formulation in healthy children and adults 5 to 49 years of age. Although the rates of REs and AEs were slightly higher with CAIV-T than with LAIV, the reduced volume of CAIV-T should be more appealing and more likely to be fully retained in the nose of the younger patient. Compared with LAIV, refrigerated CAIV-T has the advantages of more convenient storage requirements and greater ease of administration.
This study was supported by MedImmune.
The CAIV-T Study Group consists of Luis E. Angles, Heart America Research Institute, Shawnee Mission, KS; Nancy Wilson Ashbach, Radiant Research, Denver, CO; Gerald W. Bottenfield, R/D Clinical Research, Inc., Lake Jackson, TX; Tracy A. Bridges, Georgia Pollens Clinical Research Centers, Inc., Albany, GA; Robert S. Call, Commonwealth Clinical Research Specialists, Inc., Richmond, VA; John J. Champlin, Carmichael, CA; Shane Glade Christensen, J. Lewis Research, Inc., Foothill Family Clinic South, Salt Lake City, UT; Katherine Deiss, Advanced Clinical Research, Salt Lake City, UT; Frank Steven Eder, United Medical Associates, Binghamton, NY; Brandon Essink, Meridian Clinical Research, Omaha, NE; Thomas Fiel, Tempe Primary Care Associates, PC, Tempe, AZ; Mark B. Fischer, Plymouth Meeting Family Medicine, Plymouth Meeting, PA; Raul E. Gaona, Jr., Quality Assurance Research Center, San Antonio, TX; Fredric B. Garner, Burke, VA; Sandra M. Gawchik, Asthma and Allergy Research Associates, Upland, PA; Frank C. Hampel, Jr., Central Texas Health Research, New Braunfels, TX; Herschel Robert Lessin, Poughkeepsie, NY; Isaac Marcadis, Palm Beach Research Center, West Palm Beach, FL; Praful C. Mehta, Heartland Research Associates, LLC, Wichita, KS; Keith Pierce, Michigan Institute of Medicine, PC, Livonia, MI; Richard H. Schwartz, Advanced Pediatrics, Vienna, VA; Ronald J. Sell, Clinical Research Advantage, Inc., East Valley Family Physicians, PLC, Chandler, AZ; Gerald R. Shockey, Clinical Research Advantage, Inc., Desert Clinical Research, LLC, Mesa, AZ; and Paul P. Wisman Jr., Charlottesville Medical Research, Charlottesville, VA.
Published ahead of print on 27 August 2007. ![]()
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