Researchers from Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital Describe Findings in Pneumonia (Effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine on elderly…

Researchers from Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital Describe Findings in Pneumonia (Effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine on elderly long-term cancer survivors: a population-based propensity score matched cohort study)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Cancer Vaccine Week -- Investigators discuss new findings in Lung Diseases and Conditions - Pneumonia. According to news reporting from Chiayi, Taiwan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in 2012 recommended the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) for adults with high risk of pneumonia. However, its effectiveness in cancer survivors has not been investigated."

Financial support for this research came from Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation (see also Lung Diseases and Conditions - Pneumonia).

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, "Our aim was to investigate the effectiveness of PPSV23 in these patients. Population-based matched cohort study. Claim data were obtained from 1 million people registered with the National Health Insurance Research Database in 1996, and followed to 2010. People aged greater than or equal to75 years are eligible for receiving PPSV23 vaccination in Taiwan since 2007. Among the 30 249 patients with cancer, 6784 patients were 75 years or older eligible for PPSV23 vaccination. Among them, 1887 survived 5 or more years (ie, cancer survivors) after cancer diagnosis. We identified 377 cancer survivors who received PPSV23. A total of 754 propensity score matched unvaccinated patients were randomly selected. PPSV23 vaccination. The primary outcome was pneumonia hospitalisation. Potential confounders include influenza vaccination, vaccination period, cancer treatment modalities, comorbidities and sociodemographic variables. After 2 years of follow-up, vaccinated patients had a significantly lower incidence rate of pneumonia hospitalisation at 73.66 per 1000 person-years (PYs), compared with 117.82 per 1000 PYs for unvaccinated patients. Additionally, the prevalence for pneumonia hospitalisation frequency of >0-1, >1-2, >2-3 and >3 times per PY was all consistently lower in the vaccinated group (6.63% vs 9.28%, 1.86% vs 2.52%, 0.80% vs 1.59% and 0.27% vs 0.53%, respectively). After adjustment for covariates, PPSV23 vaccine was significantly associated with reduced pneumonia hospitalisation risk, with an adjusted incidence rate ratio of 0.695 (p=0.030). While the cumulative pneumonia incidence was also significantly lower in the vaccinated patients (p=0.027), the overall survival time was similar (p=0.136)."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "PPSV23 vaccination was associated with a significantly reduced rate of pneumonia hospitalisation in long-term cancer survivors."

For more information on this research see: Effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine on elderly long-term cancer survivors: a population-based propensity score matched cohort study. Bmj Open, 2018;8(5):e019364. (BMJ Publishing Group - group.bmj.com/; Bmj Open - bmjopen.bmj.com/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting W.Y. Chiou, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include M.S. Lee, S.K. Hung, H.Y. Lin, Y.C. Lo, F.C. Hsu, S.J. Tsai and C.Y Li.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019364. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Asia, Chiayi, Taiwan, Cancer, Oncology, Vaccines, Pneumonia, Pulmonology, Vaccination, Epidemiology, Immunization, Public Health, Clinical Research, Infectious Disease, Biological Products, Health and Medicine, Risk and Prevention, Clinical Trials and Studies, Lung Diseases and Conditions, Respiratory Tract Infections.

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