A case-control study of elderly patients with acute respiratory illness: effect of influenza vaccination on admission to hospital in winter 2003-2004.
Every winter, hospitals face a large increase in emergency respiratory admissions in elderly people. A case-control study was undertaken to assess the effect of routine influenza vaccine in preventing such admissions among a cohort of UK elderly presenting with acute respiratory illness during winter 2003-2004. 157 hospitalised cases and 639 controls (matched for age, sex and week of consultation) were interviewed. In a winter typical of levels of circulating influenza in recent years, influenza vaccine did not show a protective effect on emergency respiratory admissions overall (adjusted OR 1.2 (95%CI 0.8, 1.9). Policy makers should not rely solely on influenza vaccine routinely having a large effect on winter pressures, and should focus on additional preventive strategies.
Jordan
R E
RE
Health Protection Research & Development Unit, Health Protection Agency, Department of Public Health & Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. r.e.jordan@bham.ac.uk <r.e.jordan@bham.ac.uk>
Hawker
J I
JI
Ayres
J G
JG
Tunnicliffe
W
W
Adab
P
P
Olowokure
B
B
Kai
J
J
McManus
R J
RJ
Salter
R
R
Cheng
K K
KK
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination
D007252:Influenza Vaccines