APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE IN CELIAC SPRUE

Hyposplenism as a complication of celiac sprue confers an increased ri sk of pneumococcal sepsis, but such patients do not routinely receive pneumococcal vaccine despite reports of overwhelming pneumococcal seps is. Because antibody response in these patients has not been previousl y assessed, we measured pre- and postvaccination levels in 10 patients with documented sprue. All demonstrated appropriate acute antibody re sponses to a polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine. Vaccination of all patie nts with celiac sprue seems appropriate.