Pneumococcal Vaccination in Adult Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Pneumococcal Vaccination in Adult Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
The pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for all adults age 65 or older, particularly for people with lung diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (CDC, 2022). Pneumococcal immunization prevents invasive infections like COPD and reduces the severity in vaccinated adults (CDC, 2022). COPD is a chronic illness that is marked by a dysfunction of the airways or alveolar following exposure to hazardous fumes or particulates leading to continual airflow obstruction or respiratory symptoms (Ignatova et al., 2021). Periodic exacerbations can lower the quality of life in COPD patients due to pneumonia and could lead to unwanted outcomes, including mortality, and morbidity (CDC, 2022; Ignatova et al., 2021). An evidence-based approach used to minimize the likelihood of COPD exacerbation is the use of influenza vaccination and pneumococcal vaccine to prevent the development of pneumonia in adult COPD patients (Ignatova et al., 2021). Despite the existence of evidence indicating that vaccination is an effective preventive measure that can minimize the exacerbations of COPD and lower the likelihood of contracting pneumonia, the uptake of the vaccine remains suboptimal.
Walters et al. (2017) have shown that a pneumococcal vaccine is an effective approach for reducing the likelihood of pneumonia infections in adult COPD patients but their uptake remains minimal. A study by Fekete et al. (2020) showed that the uptake of pneumococcal vaccine among adult COPD patients was 10 percent despite the evidence of the significant protective effect of the vaccine in adult COPD patients. Based on the Centers for Disease Control’s (2022) data on the prevalence of COPD, the prevalence of the disease has remained unchanged between 2011 and 2020. The overall age-adjusted prevalence of the disease was 5.6, with the prevalence being significantly higher in women than in men and Streptococcus pneumoniae-associated infections cause significant morbidity and mortality in older adults.
Notably, the death rate due to COPD has reduced from 123.9 per 100,000 reported in 1999 to 105.6 per 100,000 reported in 2019, with mortality in men being higher compared to women population (CDC, 2022). The figures are in line with studies that have placed chronic lower respiratory disease including COPD as the fourth leading cause of mortality in the United States in 2019 (Wise, 2022). The death rate associated with COPD has only slightly declined despite the introduction of a vaccine as a potential preventive measure that can assist in reducing the occurrence of COPD exacerbation and minimizing pneumonia infections (Ignatova et al., 2021). In addition, the economic burden of COPD is staggering, with studies showing that the disease will lead to incurred costs of US$ 49 billion in 2019, mainly driven by hospitalizations (Wise, 2022). Thus, immunization in older adults is a vital component of preventive healthcare administrations to avert infectious illnesses like flu and pneumococcal illness (e.g., pneumonia, otitis, sinusitis), reduces illness and mortality, and decreases complications and hospitalizations (Bach et al., 2019).
The purpose of the project is to increase t...