Quadruple-dose flu vaccine lowers SNF residents' hospitalizations, largest study shows quoting : Mc Knight's

Quadruple-dose flu Vaccine lowers SNF residents' hospitalizations, largest study showsShare this content:linkedingoogleEmailPrintThe high-dose vaccine contains four times as many antigens as the standard doseVaccines with four times the antigen of standard flu vaccines significantly decrease the risk of respiratory and all-cause hospitalizations during flu season, according to the largest nursing home study conducted to date on the effect of a high dose flu vaccine. All participants were on Medicare and received high-dose flu vaccines instead of standard doses. Respiratory illness hospitalizations decreased by 12.7%, and all-cause hospitalizations fell by 8.5% during the study period. Research was conducted on 38,000 nursing home residents 65 and older across 38 states. Study findings were published by researchers at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center on Thursday in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.




Nursing homes in the study were randomly assigned to either HD or SD for residents. "Our finding that the high dose vaccination is more effective than a standard dose in reducing hospitalizations is remarkable for several reasons. In the largest nursing home study to date on the effect of a high dose (HD) flu vaccine, researchers found that vaccines with four times the antigen of standard flu (SD) vaccines significantly reduced the risk of respiratory and all-cause hospitalization during flu season. The residents were given influenza vaccines in the fall of 2013 to help protect them from influenza during the period of November 2013 to March 2014. In addition to pneumonia, flu can contribute to heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes, especially in an older nursing home population where it can easily spread among residents.

Stronger flu vaccine may keep seniors out of hospital

For every 69 people given the high-dose vaccine vs. the standard-dose vaccine, one more person stayed out of the hospital during the flu season. So we asked if the high-dose vaccine also would work better than regular-dose vaccine in the population we consider least able to respond. But a significant reduction in hospitalizations can still be a benefit, Gravenstein says, even though the high-dose vaccine is more expensive than the standard-dose vaccine. Follow Futurity RSSTwitterFacebookNewsletterA flu vaccine with four times the antigen of a standard vaccine could significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization among especially vulnerable seniors, a large, random clinical trial has found. Just under half the homes, 409 to be exact, administered the high-dose vaccine while the other 414 provided a standard dose.


collected by :Lucy William

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