World COPD Day: Study proves yearly vaccination reduces risk in patients

A recent international study has proved that yearly pneumococcal and influenza vaccines can check the aggravation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — a lung condition that causes breathing difficulties. This is because the airways get narrow, become inflamed and get damaged.

On World COPD Day on November 15, Dr Narendra Khippal, professor, institute of respiratory diseases, Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College Jaipur, said, acute exacerbation is the main cause of 50% deaths in COPD. A pneumococcal vaccine once a year and influenza vaccine twice a year can check most of these deaths.

According to Khippal, these vaccines were available in India over the last few years but since there wasn’t any concrete study, they were used very less among COPD patients. “Now with proven results of vaccines, more and more COPD patients will be benefitted,” he said.

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, in a recently published report stated that influenza and pneumococcal vaccine lowers the risk of COPD aggravation. This study had started in 2012 was carried out on 146 patients.The report was published in the yearly ID Week Journal 2017.

The number of acute exacerbations, hospitalisations, ICU admissions, invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality were analysed on 146 COPD patients for one year with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine and the outcome was compared with 146 unvaccinated control-group patients.

The experiment showed that there was a significant reduction of hospitalisation and ICU admissions for the vaccinated group.