Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination in Preventing Acute Asthma Exacerbations in Adult Patient

Abstract

Acute respiratory tract infection is a major cause of acute exacerbations in asthma. One example of viral respiratory tract infection is influenza caused by influenza virus. Administering influenza vaccine to asthmatic patients is expected to protect them from acute asthma exacerbations caused by influenza virus.The purpose of this case study is to determine the effectiveness of influenza vaccines in protecting the patients from acute exacerbations of asthma in adults. Literature search was conducted in the Pubmed database, EBSCO, Clinical Key, Google Scholar, and Science Direct to identify relevant articles. Literature search was done on March 30th, 2015. There were two selected articles that met the criterias and fully accessible for further review. Both articles had good validity and showed that there was no significant effect of influenza vaccination against acute asthma exacerbations. Number Needed to Treat (NNT) value from one of the articles showed no significancy. Influenza vaccination does not have significant protective effect against acute asthma exacerbations in adults.