Vaccination in rheumatology: Evolution of views on the problem

Abstract

The problem of coinfections that are due to both a rheumatic disease (RD) itself and the need to use immunosuppressive drugs deserves apparent attention in modern rheumatology. Coinfections substantially affect morbidity and mortality rates, especially in diffuse connective tissue diseases. The data available in the literature on the above subject matter suggest that vaccination is a powerful method for prevention of infectious diseases that are the most important problem for patients with RD.

Keywords

• autoimmune diseases
• rheumatoid arthritis
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• coinfections
• pneumonia
• vaccination
• pneumococcal vaccine