New vaccine shows promise for COPD patients at risk for pneumonia
A new vaccine against pneumonia may offer better protection from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients than the currently accepted vaccine, according to recent research that will be published in the September 15 issue of the American Journal of the Respiratory and Critical Care Journal, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.
Because pneumonia disproportionately affects patients with COPD and frequently causes exacerbations, the Centers for Disease Control currently recommend that all adults with COPD receive the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination (PPSV23). However, the efficacy of PPSV23 is not well established in the COPD patient population.
"Reasonable effectiveness for this vaccine has been demonstrated in cohort studies in adults with lung disease," said Mark Dransfield, M.D. of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and lead author of the study. "[However,] debate remains about its immunogenicity and effectiveness in COPD."