Investigation of the relationship between the clinical course of patients over 65 years of age and pneumococcal immunization of patients over 65 years of age and hospitalized in Ankara City Hospital and diagnosed with COVID-19

Investigation of the Relationship Between the Clinical Course of Patients Over 65 Years of Age and Pneumococcal Immunization of Patients Over 65 Years of Age and Hospitalized in Ankara City Hospital and Diagnosed with COVID-19 Introduction and Aim: COVID-19 infection can cause pneumonia and can be fatal,especially in elderyl people.Several studies have shown that some vaccines may protect against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and death.Therefore, it is estimated that the clinical course of patients aged 65 and over hospitalized due to the diagnosis of COVID-19 may be milder with pneumococcal immunization. In our study, it was aimed to examine there relationship between the clinical course and pneumococcal immunization of patients aged 65 and over with positive COVID-19 PCR test hospitalized in Ankara City Hospital. In addition to examining how the pneumococcal vaccine affects the duration of hospitalization and CT findings of the patients,it is aimed to investigate the importance of pneumococcal vaccines administered in family medicine centers in our country in the COVID-19 pandemic Materials and Methods: Our research is a descriptive, cross-sectional and retrospectivestudy. It was carried out with 294 individuals aged 65 and over who applied to Ankara City Hospital with suspected COVID-19 and whose diagnosis was confirmed. Participants in the study were divided into three groups with similar characteristics, and the demographic findings of the patients were recorded. CT findings and length of stay were examined during hospitalization. The first group consists of ward patients, the second group is the patients who are directly treated in the intensive care unit, and the third group is the patients who transferred from the service to the intensive care unit. In the questionnaire form age, gender, marital status, chronic diseases, pneumococcal vaccine status, PCR and CT findings will be questioned. The effects of pneumococcal immunization on hospital stay and CT findings were investigated by analyzing the differences between the 3 groups. Data analysis was performed in SPSS (Version 25.0, Inc Chicago, IL) statistics program. Data with a p value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant in the study. Results: 100% of the patients were 65 years and older and the average age was found to be 74.93±6.61. When the patients are evaluated in terms of chronic disease; Most of the participants (62,60%), including those with other diseases, had hypertension, 36.73% coronary artery disease, 31,97% diabetes mellitus, and 22,1% respiratory system diseases such as asthma, COPD and chronic bronchitis. It was determined that the number of men (71,5%) whose CT was compatible with the viral pandemic was higher than that of women (53,8%), and the difference was statistically significant. It was found that the CT finding of most of the individuals (69,5%) who had pneumococcal vaccine was not compatible with the pandemic, and that the CT finding of most of the individuals (88%) who did not have the pneumococcal vaccine was compatible with the pandemic. In our study, it was determined that the prognosis of COVID-19 patients aged 65 and over who received the pneumococcal vaccine was good, that these patients had less lung CT findings compatible with the viral pandemic, therefore the hospitalization period was shortened and the need for intensive care was low. Conclusion: We, family physicians, who evaluate the patients in a holistic way, have important responsibilities in increasing the awareness about the effects of existing vaccines other than the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. In parallel with the results of our study, it was observed that the pneumococcal vaccine administered in more family medicine centers positively affected thecourse of COVID-19, adult immunization should be given importance in every period. Keywords:pneumococcus, LRTI, vaccine, COVID-19, pneumococcal vaccine, family medicine