1989 Volume 63 Issue 3 Pages 173-181
Pneumonia in the elderly often occurs repeatedly, and the mortality rate from pneumonia continues to remain high today despite the usual use of antibactrial chemotherapy. Therefore, we conducted immunotherapy using a polyvalent bacterial vaccine (broncasma Berna). We treated 54 elderly patients with Broncasma Berna, containing chief bacterial pathogens responsible for pneumonia in the elderly. Clinical results obtained during 2 years were compared with those of 18 subjects not treated with Broncasma Berna.
The survival rate was 64.8% for the group treated with Broncasma Berna and 50% for the group not treated. The frequency of contraction of pneumonia decreased significantly in the group treated. Clinical efficacy was obtained in 63% of the group treated to prevent pneumonia. The death rate from pneumonia was 17.6% for the group treated and 44.4% for the group not treated. Immunologically, reinforcement in humoral and cellular immunities was indicated by immunoglobulin avlues, positive tuberculin skin tests, and an increase in lymphocyte stimulation index values for Broncasma Berna. Significant pathogens in sputum disappeared or decreased in 6 (54.6%) out of 11 patients. Side effects such as pain or redness at the site of injection were observed in 6 patients.
From the above results, it may be concluded that Broncasma Berna can be considered to be effective as a long-term immunoprophylactic agent in the prevention of pneumonia in the elderly.
