Flu vaccine and the ED: Administering influenza vaccine in a Canadian emergency department: Is there a role?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: To determine the prevalence of influenza vaccination in patients who present to the emergency department (ED) who meet current guidelines for its use. To evaluate the feasibility of an ED-based program to provide influenza vaccine to at-risk patients. Methods: A survey of ED patients and their family physicians, using a convenience sample. Participants and setting: Consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department of Prince George Regional Hospital, Prince George, BC, a regional hospital in Northern British Columbia, during designated shifts between Nov. 6, 1997, and Dec. 10, 1997. Outcome measures: Age, gender, family physician (FP), eligibility for influenza vaccine, vaccination status, willingness to receive vaccine in the ED, and FP methods for ensuring use of influenza vaccine. Results: 935 patients were interviewed; 816 met study eligibility criteria. Of 214 patients eligible for influenza vaccine, 113 (52.8%) had not been vaccinated. Fifty-three (46.9%) agreed to vaccination, and 49 were vaccinated in the ED. A survey of the patients’ FPs revealed that 85% used callback lists, but that only 49% of vaccine-eligible patients identified in the study were on a callback list. Positive associations were found between the presence of an FP and the likelihood of having been vaccinated (odds ratio [OR] = 8.8), being on a callback list and having been vaccinated (OR = 4.1), and age >64 and being on a callback list (OR = 2.1). Conclusions: Up to 50% of patients eligible for influenza vaccine are not adequately immunized. Administering influenza vaccine in the ED is acceptable to patients and should reduce influenza rates in at-risk populations. There is a role for administering influenza vaccine in the ED.