Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Against Pneumonia and COPD Exacerbations Among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Thailand: A National Test-Negative Design Study, 2013–2024
Vaccines·
- DOI
- 10.3390/vaccines14080711
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7162582980
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Seasonal influenza vaccination provided substantial protection against severe respiratory outcomes in a high-risk population with COPD, supporting vaccination as a public health intervention in this group.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study estimated the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination in preventing influenza-associated pneumonia and acute exacerbations among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Thailand.
Study design
A nationwide retrospective test-negative design study used administrative healthcare data linked with laboratory-confirmed influenza surveillance data covering twelve influenza seasons from June 2013 to May 2025. Modified Poisson regression with cluster-robust standard errors was applied to estimate adjusted risk ratios and vaccine effectiveness.
Population and setting
The study included 606,072 COPD-related clinical episodes among patients aged 40 years and older in Thailand who presented with pneumonia or acute COPD exacerbation and underwent RT-PCR testing for influenza.
Main findings
Among 606,072 episodes, 31.7% tested positive for influenza. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness was 55.9% (95% CI: 47.3–63.1) against influenza-associated pneumonia and 67.0% (95% CI: 48.8–78.8) against influenza-associated COPD exacerbations. Estimates were similar across age groups and COPD severity strata.
Public-health relevance
Seasonal influenza vaccination provided substantial protection against severe respiratory outcomes in a high-risk population with COPD, supporting vaccination as a public health intervention in this group.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, including assessment of potential biases inherent in test-negative designs, confounding control, generalizability, and detailed subgroup analyses.
GIDS interpretation
The classifier links identify this as a peer-reviewed journal article on influenza surveillance, vaccination, and vaccine effectiveness in Thailand. It contributes national laboratory-confirmed evidence in a priority population but does not by itself constitute or confirm a live public health signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 8 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.