Rheumatoid arthritis patients 'may be missing out on vaccinations'

People with rheumatoid arthritis in the UK may be missing out on important vaccinations, potentially putting them at a greater risk of infection.This is according to an Arthritis Research UK-funded study from the University of Manchester, which has identified a shortfall in the uptake of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations among those diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis after examining the electronic patient records of 15,724 individuals.An increased infection risk Published in the medical journal PLOS One, the research specifically looked at data from patients diagnosed with the disease who were being treated with certain types of immunosuppressive drugs.It was revealed one in five had not been vaccinated against the flu and half had not been given the pneumonia vaccine over a five year follow-up period. This is a particular problem given that patients with rheumatoid arthritis already have double the normal risk of infection compared to the rest of the population.The study also revealed that younger patients, people who visited their GP less often and those who were not considered to be at increased risk of infection for another non-arthritis-related reason were least likely to be vaccinated.Solving the problem The researchers noted that one of the key reasons for this problem is the fact that current guidance on immunisation standards for these patients is unclear, while there is also limited money available to provide these vaccines.Dr Ben Brown, a GP who was part of ...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news