Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccinal coverage in hospitalized elderly patients in France

In France, there is little data on vaccinal coverage in elderly people at risk for invasive pneumococcal infections (IPI).

The study objective was to assess the pneumococcal vaccination coverage and traceability in hospitalized elderly people (>75 years of age).

A multicentric point prevalence survey was made on volunteers over 75 years of age, hospitalized in internal medicine, geriatrics, and infectious diseases units.

Nine hundred and three patients in 63 units of 28 hospitals were included (mean 85 years of age) in the study between April and May 2011. Ten percent (93/903) were vaccinated against the pneumococcus. Thirty-eight percent of the patients had at least one risk factor for IPI and 20.5% of these had been vaccinated. There was a traceability back-up in 59% of the cases. Vaccination was not considered by the hospital for 83% of patients with IPI risk factor but not vaccinated (task delegated to the family physician in 50% of the cases).

Vaccination coverage against the pneumococcus in France is very low in hospitalized patients over 75 years of age even though more than one out of three presents at least one risk factor for IPI. The rate of traceability is also poor. Hospitalization should be an opportunity to offer pneumococcal vaccination to elderly patients at risk for IPI in France because of unclear recommendations for elderly individuals and lack of political will to improve vaccination coverage.