Vaccinating High‐risk Patients Against Influenza: Doing More to Protect Patients With Asthma

Rohde G, Wisnivesky J, van Essen GA, Ompad D, Barnes P. Vaccinating High-risk Patients Against Influenza: Doing More to Protect Patients With Asthma.  Annals of Respiratory Medicine, February 2010; 1(1):11-17

Review Article

Gernot Rohde ¹, Juan Wisnivesky ³, GA (Ted) van Essen ⁴, C Danielle Ompad ⁵ and J Peter Barnes ²

Affiliations: ¹University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany; ²National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK; ³Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA; ⁴Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands and ⁵Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, USA

ABSTRACT

Globally, asthma is a significant source of both morbidity and mortality. Patients with asthma frequently experience episodes of exacerbation that necessitate the utilization of substantial healthcare resources. Viral infections of the respiratory tract in asthmatic patients have been associated with an increase in acute exacerbations; in particular, infection with influenza virus leads to a rise in severe asthma exacerbations that require hospitalization.

Many influenza‐triggered respiratory complications are unnecessary and can potentially be avoided by vaccination. Vaccination against influenza has been established as an effective way of reducing general practitioner consultations, exacerbations, hospitalizations and deaths in asthma patients. For these reasons, major international healthcare organizations and national authorities recommend annual vaccination against influenza for patients with high‐risk medical conditions, including the subpopulation of asthmatic patients.

Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines against influenza, vaccination rates remain lower than desirable, even among targeted high‐risk populations, depriving these patients of protection against influenza and unnecessarily exposing them to influenza‐related complications. Proactive strategies based on prevailing evidence‐based international guidelines therefore need to be implemented to overcome barriers to vaccination and to extend protection against influenza to all high‐risk patients, particularly those with asthma. Healthcare providers play a pivotal role in ensuring adherence to vaccination guidelines, thereby ensuring that these evidence‐based recommendations are translated into improved outcomes for asthma patients.

Keywords: Asthma, Exacerbation, Guidelines, High‐risk, Influenza, Patients, Protect, Vaccination
Correspondence: Gernot Rohde, Medizinische Klinik III – Pneumologie, Allergologie, Schlaf‐ und Beatmungsmedizin, Berufsgenossenschaftliches Universitätsklinikum Bergmannsheil GmbH, Haus 3 (Neubau), Raum 03.‐1.007, Bürkle‐de‐la‐Camp‐Platz 1, 44789 Bochum, Germany. Tel: +49 (0)234 302 3532; Fax: +49 (0)234 302 6420; e‐mail: gernot.rohde@ruhr‐uni‐bochum.de