Evaluation of inpatient pneumococcal vaccination rate among adult patients with diabetes in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus was found to be one of the most common comorbidities for pneumococcal diseases. Pneumococcal vaccinations can reduce morbidity and mortality in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to estimate pneumococcal vaccination rate of these populations in inpatient hospital setting. Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective chart review involving adult patients with diabetes who were admitted to King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between the period of March 2016 and March 2017. Results: A total of 1087 eligible patients were included. The overall vaccination rate for pneumococcus was 1.6% among the vaccine-eligible subjects. The most common risk factors were older age (65 years old or over – 53.9%), chronic renal failure (28.2%) and chronic heart failure (27%), respectively. The majority of the patients in this study were eligible for pneumococcal vaccine (77.6%) due to one or more risk factor other than diabetes mellitus. The mean number of other risk factors other than diabetes mellitus was 1.5 (SD 1.1, 95% CI 1.39–1.53). None of the included patients had documentation on pneumococcal vaccination status. Conclusion: The pneumococcal vaccine coverage rates among hospitalised patients with diabetes were low in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of electronic interventions in promoting vaccination assessment and administration among patients with diabetes.