Prevention of elderly pneumonia by BCG vaccination
Project/Area Number |
15590794
|
Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Section | 一般 |
Research Field |
Respiratory organ internal medicine
|
Research Institution | TOHOKU UNIVERSITY |
Principal Investigator |
OHRUI Takashi TOHOKU UNIVERSITY, HOSPITAL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 病院, 助教授 (90271923)
|
Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
|
Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2004)
|
Budget Amount *help |
¥2,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
|
Keywords | Older people / Pneumonia / Cellular immunity / BCG vaccination / Tuberculin responses |
Research Abstract |
Delayed type hypersensitivity response to tuberculin is an important marker of T helper 1 mediated acquired immunity. Since the disabled elderly with depressed tuberculin responses show an increased risk of pneumonia, we examined the effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) administration on the development of pneumonia in these subjects. Eighty-eight disabled older patients with depressed tuberculin responses were randomly assigned with BCG inoculation (n = 44) or without inoculation (n = 44, NT group). Forty-one (93%) of the 44 patients assigned with BCG inoculation showed positive tuberculin conversion (CT group). Sixty-seven age-matched patients with positive tuberculin responses (PT group) were also enrolled. We prospectively compared the rates of development of pneumonia for two years among these three groups. During follow-up, new pneumonia was diagnosed in 19 of the 44 patients (42%) in the NT group, 6 (15%) of the 41 patients in the CT group, and 9 (13%) of the 67 patients in the PT group. According to the Cox regression model, a hazard ratio of developing pneumonia in the NT group compared with the CT group was 3.22 (95% CI 1.03 -9.96, P = 0.03). Furthermore, the rate of hospitalization due to pneumonia was significantly higher in the NT group compared with the CT group with a relative risk of 7.14 (95% CI 1.41 -36.1, P = 0.03). Conversely, there was no significant difference in the risk of pneumonia between the CT group and the PT group (P= 0.70). These findings suggest that BCG inoculation could re-activate the immune system and reduce the risk of pneumonia in the disabled elderly.
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Report
(3 results)
Research Products
(16 results)