Abstract
Pneumococcal infection(PI) in COPD patients leads to exacerbation and aggravation in its morbidity. Vaccines have been used to prevent invasive PI. Thus, it is of great clinical relevance to assess the association betweenvaccination and the number of exacerbations in COPD patients.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether patients with COPD who underwent pneumococcal vaccination have fewer exacerbations compared to not vaccinated.
Cross-sectional and retrospective study.
Patients enrolled at the clinic of COPD outpatient respiratory clinic from December 2011 to July 2012.
200 patients with COPD were interviewed, 133 had informed use of pneumococcal vaccine on least year. 36 had been vaccinated, 97 had not. Was verified that the number of exacerbations patients experienced the previous year. How exacerbation in the previous year was understood: the demand for emergency change in the patients usual symptoms, use of antibiotics and / or systemic corticosteroids with or do not need hospitalization
RESULTS: Crossing the pneumococcal vaccine to the presence of exacerbation in the previous year found a tiny positive relationship (0.066) without statistical significance (p = 0.518).
CONCLUSION: This study found no statistically significant difference in the number of exacerbations in COPD patients vaccinated or unvaccinated.
- © 2013 ERS