Journal Article

Effectiveness of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine against pneumonia and cost analysis for the elderly who receive seasonal influenza vaccine in Japan

Oishi, Kazunori, Kuroki, Reiki, Iwanaga, Kouichi, Yamaryo, Takeshi, Ohkusa, Yasushi, Koyama, Kazuhiko, Harada, Yoshitaka, Kawakami, Kenji, Tanaka, Takeshi

2010

Overview

To determine the clinical efficacy and cost-saving effect of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) against community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), an open-label, randomized clinical trial was conducted involving 786 Japanese subjects older than 65 years of age receiving a routine influenza vaccine during the 2-year period. Study subjects were randomly assigned to either a PPV group ( n = 394) or to a non-PPV group ( n = 392). The incidence, admission and the medical cost for all-cause pneumonia were compared between these two groups. PPV vaccination significantly reduced the incidence of admission for all-cause pneumonia for subjects older than 75 years of age (41.5%, P = 0.039) and for those who had difficulty walking (62.7%, P = 0.005), but not for all study subjects older than 65 years of age ( P = 0.183), for the 2-year period. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves for subjects who had difficulty walking free from all-cause pneumonia demonstrated a significant difference ( P = 0.0146) between the two groups. PPV vaccination significantly reduced medical costs for all study subjects during the first year period ( P = 0.027). Our present data demonstrated that PPV was effective for all-cause pneumonia for study subjects older than 75 years of age, although the effect was not significant for all study subjects older than 65 years of age.

• Publisher: Elsevier Ltd,Elsevier,Elsevier Limited
• Subject: Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Allergy and Immunology / Applied microbiology / Bacteriology / Biological and medical sciences / Community-Acquired Infections - economics / Community-Acquired Infections - epidemiology / Community-Acquired Infections - prevention & control / Cost analysis / Costs and Cost Analysis / Female / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data / Humans / Immunization / Immunization Programs - economics / Incidence / Influenza / Influenza vaccine / Influenza Vaccines - administration & dosage / Japan - epidemiology / Kaplan-Meier Estimate / Male / Microbiology / Miscellaneous / Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine / Pneumococcal Vaccines - economics / Pneumococcal Vaccines - immunology / Pneumonia / Pneumonia, Pneumococcal - economics / Pneumonia, Pneumococcal - epidemiology / Pneumonia, Pneumococcal - prevention & control / Streptococcus pneumoniae / Vaccines / Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects)