Influenza Vaccination Keeps Dialysis Patients Out of the Hospital
November 18 2016 - 12:08PM
Business Wire
Skipping Flu Shot Increases Hospitalization
Risk by up to 158 percent, According to Fresenius Medical Care
Study Presented at 2016 Kidney Week Meeting
Hemodialysis patients who skipped the influenza vaccine were
significantly more likely to be hospitalized than those who were
vaccinated, suggests a three-year study of more than 150,000 kidney
dialysis patients being presented today in Chicago at 2016 Kidney
Week, the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology
(ASN). The study is one of 66 abstracts authored by Fresenius
Medical Care researchers, clinicians, and caregivers to be
presented at the meeting and published in the Abstract Supplement
of Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
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FMCNA Chief Medical Officer and Executive
VP, Dr. Frank Maddux, receives his annual flu shot from Clinic
Manager, Margot Nelson, RN. (Credit: Fresenius Medical Care North
America)
The study tracked kidney failure patients who were vaccinated
against the flu, including at U.S. Fresenius Kidney Care dialysis
centers where they received their hemodialysis therapy. The
percentage of Fresenius Kidney Care patients who opted for yearly
vaccination against the flu increased from 60 percent the first
year of the study to 80 percent the third year. Fresenius Medical
Care North America is the premier health care company focused on
providing the highest quality care to people with renal and other
chronic conditions.
“While almost everyone should be vaccinated against influenza,
people with kidney failure who are on dialysis are at high risk for
complications if they get sick, which is why it is vital they get
the flu vaccine every year,” said Nien Chen Li, MPH, MS, MA, lead
author of the study and biostatistician for Fresenius Medical Care.
“We’re gratified to see that our patients are increasingly choosing
to be vaccinated.”
Like others with chronic illnesses, people with kidney failure
are at higher risk for getting the flu. They also become sicker if
they do get the infection and may get dehydrated or develop
pneumonia, leading to hospitalization. Additionally, many of them
have other risk factors, including diabetes and heart disease. Over
a 30-year period, deaths from the flu ranged from 3,000 to 49,000 a
year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
estimates.
Fresenius Medical Care strongly encourages patients to receive
flu vaccination and offers these vaccinations at its dialysis
centers. In the study, researchers tracked flu vaccination and
hospitalization rates among 158,326 patients in 2013-2014; 202,793
in 2014-2015; and 220,203 in 2015-2016. Patients who skipped
vaccination were 53 percent more likely to be hospitalized during
the flu season the first year, 87 percent more likely the second
year and 158 percent more likely to be hospitalized the third
year.
“The results of this research suggest that aggressive programs
to promote flu vaccination makes a significant difference in
keeping kidney patients healthy and out of the hospital,” said Dr.
Frank Maddux, Fresenius Medical Care Chief Medical Officer and
Executive Vice President for Clinical and Scientific Affairs. “We
make it easy for patients by offering the flu vaccine at the clinic
where they receive their care and explaining to them why the flu
shot is important to their health. More and more patients are
taking advantage of these crisis-preventing vaccinations.”
More than 661,000 Americans have kidney failure, meaning their
kidneys can no longer effectively filter their blood to get rid of
wastes and excess fluid. Of those with kidney failure, 468,000 are
receiving dialysis, in which an artificial kidney (dialyzer)
filters blood and returns it to the body.
Recently, Fresenius Medical Care announced that its dialysis
services business, Fresenius Kidney Care, achieved the country’s
largest number of top-rated Five-Star dialysis centers, based on
the annual Dialysis Facility Compare Five-Star Quality Rating
System issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS). The company has helped its patients live longer and spend
less time in the hospital, improving mortality rates and lowering
the average time spent in a hospital setting by two-and-a-half
days. The flu vaccination program is part of this endeavor.
Fresenius Medical Care presents the results of its research at
the ASN Kidney Week meeting each year to further the advancement of
the quality of renal care and improve patient outcomes. The general
meeting is scheduled from Nov. 17-20 in Chicago and is expected to
attract more than 13,000 leading kidney professionals from around
the world.
About Fresenius Medical Care North America
Fresenius Medical Care North America is the premier health care
company focused on providing the highest quality care to people
with renal and other chronic conditions. Through its
industry-leading network of dialysis centers, outpatient cardiac
and vascular labs, and urgent care centers, as well as the
continent’s largest practice of hospitalist and post-acute
providers, Fresenius Medical Care North America provides
coordinated health care services at pivotal care points for
hundreds of thousands of chronically ill customers. As the world’s
largest fully vertically integrated renal company, it offers
specialty pharmacy and laboratory services, and manufactures and
distributes the most comprehensive line of dialysis equipment,
disposable products, and renal pharmaceuticals. For more
information, visit http://www.FMCNA.com.
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Fresenius Medical Care North AmericaJon Stone,
781-392-4680Jonathan.d.stone@fmc-na.com
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