Investigation of the Relationship between the Clinical Course of the Elderly Patients Diagnosed with Covid-19 and Pneumococcal Immunization

Ebru Ugras Tiryaki, Ahmet Keskin

Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey

Introduction: Our study aims to examine the relationship between the clinical course of patients over 65 years of age diagnosed with Covid-19 and pneumococcal immunization.

Materials and methods: We enrolled 294 patients aged 65 and over who were admitted to hospital with the suspicion of COVID-19 and whose diagnosis was confirmed. The patients were divided into three groups, service patients, patients who were treated directly in the intensive care unit, and patients who transferred from the service to the intensive care unit.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 74.93±6.61. When the patients were evaluated in terms of chronic disease, most of them (62.6%) had hypertension, 36.7% had coronary artery disease, 32.0% had diabetes mellitus, and 22.1% had respiratory system diseases such as asthma, COPD and chronic bronchitis. It was determined that the number of men (71.5%) whose CT was compatible with the viral pandemic was statistically higher than women (53.8%) (p=0.002). We found that most of the individuals whose CT was compatible with the viral pandemic were not vaccinated against pneumococcus (88.0%) (p=0.001). The prognosis of COVID-19 patients of individuals with a pneumococcal vaccine was good, and these patients had fewer pulmonary CT findings compatible with the viral pandemic, which was related to a shorter hospital stay and less intensive care needs (p=0.001). 

Conclusion: We determined that the pneumococcal vaccine, which is mainly administered in family medicine centers, has a positive effect on the course of COVID-19, and adult immunization should be given importance in every period.