Flu Vaccine Cuts Rate of In-Hospital Deaths

Vaccination for influenza is associated with a reduction in adverse outcomes among adults who are hospitalized for influenza, according to a recent study.

During the 2013-2014 influenza season, vaccine viruses were antigenically similar to those that had been circulating.
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To explore the efficacy of the influenza vaccine during the 2013-2014 season, the researchers assessed data on patients who had been hospitalized for laboratory-confirmed influenza between 2013 and 2014.

Outcome measures for influenza severity included mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, hospital length of stay, and ICU length of stay. The likelihood of vaccination within different age categories (18-49 years, 50-64 years, and 65 years or older) was investigated via propensity score matching. Disease severity was compared between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients using multivariable logistic regression and competing risk models. Results were adjusted for the timing of antiviral treatment and time from influenza onset to hospitalization.

Results indicated that influenza vaccination was tied to a reduced risk of in-hospital mortality across all age groups. Additionally, vaccination was associated with lower rates of ICU admission in patients age 18 to 49 years and 65 years or older. Vaccination had also resulted in reduced hospital and ICU lengths of stay in patients age 50 to 64 years and 65 years or older.

“Influenza vaccination during 2013-14 influenza season attenuated adverse outcome among adults [who] were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Arriola C, Garg S, Anderson EJ, et al. Influenza vaccination modifies disease severity among community-dwelling adults hospitalized with influenza. Clin Infect Dis. 2017;65(8):1289-1297. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix468.