Prevnar13:Vaccination in elders prevents them from Pneumonia

13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) found to be effective in patients ≥65 years old against hospitalization for vaccine-type community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), according to a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The trial showed significant 45% reduction in vaccine-type pneumococcal CAP in adults vaccinated with PCV13

Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus, is the most common bacterial cause of CAP. Pneumococcal pneumonia can be classified as non-invasive, when bacteria cause infection in the lungs but are not detected in the blood, or invasive when bacteria also enter the bloodstream (bacteremic pneumonia) or another normally sterile site in the body.

John M McLaughlin and his associates conducted a study to demonstrate the efficacy of Prevnar 13® in the prevention of the first episode of confirmed vaccine-type pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Of the total 2034 CAP hospitalizations, PCV13 serotypes were observed in 68 patients (6 had a positive blood culture). Compared with controls, case patients were less likely to be immunocompromised and overweight or obese. The majority of patients (88%) had at least 1 risk factor for pneumococcal pneumonia, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and diabetes. Also, about 21% of patients had previously been given PPSV23, another pneumococcal vaccine, in the past 5 years; the efficacy of PCV13 was not affected by previous PPSV23 administration.

The unadjusted vaccine efficacy against the vaccine-type CAP for this patient group was found to be 72.8%. The findings support data from the landmark Community-Acquired Pneumonia Immunization Trial in Adults (CAPiTA), which showed a significant 45% reduction in vaccine-type pneumococcal CAP in adults vaccinated with PCV13

The researchers concluded that the study demonstrates the real-world effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type CAP in adults aged ≥65 years following introduction into a national immunization program.