People who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) must imperatively be vaccinated against the flu, otherwise they risk losing their lives.
Like all fragile people, those who suffer from COPD have every interest in getting vaccinated against the flu, because it prevents them from hospitalization or even, in the worst case, death. A new study revealed that the flu was a common cause of hospitalization in patients with COPD, and that the consequences could be very serious: one patient in ten dies in this case, and one patient in five ends up in intensive care. However, about 40% of patients are not immunized against the virus.
“Get vaccinated every year”
“Given the results of this study, we strongly encourage patients with COPD to get vaccinated every year to protect themselves against influenza and its serious health consequences,” says research director Sunita Mulpuru, from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (Canada). It bases its conclusions on medical data collected from 46 hospitals.
Once hospitalized, COPD patients with influenza needed ventilation more often (8.7% vs 5.2%), had a higher risk of death (9.7% vs 7.9% ) and had more recourse to intensive care (17.2% vs 12.1%) than the others. In patients who used home oxygen, the risks were even higher.
The flu epidemic has settled in France
Yet despite the clear benefits of flu vaccination, only 66.5% of cohort members were immune to the virus. According to the latest data from Public Health France, influenza activity is on the rise, with all metropolitan regions experiencing an epidemic, with the exception of Normandy. Since November 1, 2018, 259 severe cases of influenza have been reported. Almost half (49%) are aged 65 and over, and the majority (85%) of them have risk factors such as COPD.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the bronchi and is associated with many cardiovascular diseases. It progresses slowly and becomes disabling, characterized by a gradual decrease in breath. Largely underestimated, it probably affects more than 3.5 million people, or 6 to 8% of the French adult population. Responsible for 3% of deaths in France, COPD could be the 4th cause of death in 2030.
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