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Patients with flu-related pneumonia less likely to receive flu vaccine
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Children and adults admitted to the hospital with influenza-related pneumonia were less likely to have received an influenza vaccination than those with pneumonia not associated with influenza in a recent study.
“Influenza remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide,” Carlos G. Grijalva, MD, MPH, of the department of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “[Patients] with laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated pneumonia, compared with those with pneumonia not associated with influenza, had lower odds of having received influenza vaccination.”
Carlos G. Grijalva
The researchers studied data from the Etiology of Pneumonia in the Community (EPIC) study, a multicenter study that focused on patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Study participants included 2,767 patients, aged 6 months or older, with influenza and data on influenza vaccination status. The study was conducted from January 2010 through June 2014 at four sites in the United States.
Of the 162 patients with influenza-associated pneumonia, 17% were vaccinated against influenza, compared with 29% of control patients with influenza-negative pneumonia. The adjusted OR for influenza vaccination among hospitalized patients with influenza-associated pneumonia was 0.43 (95% CI, 0.28-0.68) and the estimated vaccine efficacy was 56.7% (95% CI, 31.9%-72.5%).
The researchers found that vaccinated patients were more likely to be older, white and past smokers than unvaccinated patients. The unvaccinated patients also were more likely to be current smokers and admitted to the hospital with pneumonia earlier in the influenza season than vaccinated patients.
Immunosuppressed patients were more likely to be at risk for influenza-related pneumonia regardless of vaccination status, the investigators said.
“Prior influenza vaccination between cases and controls was higher in patients with immunosuppressive conditions, including cancers and HIV infection, suggesting lower vaccine effectiveness,” Grijalva and colleagues wrote. “These findings … highlight the vulnerability of older adults and patients with immunosuppressive conditions and the need for additional measures to reduce their risk of influenza infection and related complications.” – by David Costill
Disclosure: Grijalva reports having served as a consultant for Pfizer.
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