According to a Cochrane review reported by empr.com, for patients with COPD, a polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine offered significant protection against community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, the research did not prove vaccination lowered the risk of confirmed pneumococcal pneumonia, according to empr.com.
Randomized controlled trials that compared injectable pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) or pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV) vs. a control or alternative vaccine type in patients with COPD were included for the review. Five studies (n=606) were added for this update, bringing the review’s total to 12 trials involving 2,171 patients with COPD.
Vaccination was found to significantly decrease the risk of a COPD exacerbation (OR 0.60, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.93; GRADE: moderate). One study that compared the efficacy of the 23-valent PPV vs. 7-valent PCV reported no differences for CAP, all-cause mortality, hospital admission or risk of a COPD exacerbation. However, a greater chance of some mild adverse effects were reported with the PPV-23 vaccine.
