Marrie TJ, et al. – This trial probed the effect of age on the manifestations and outcomes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The highest rate of IPD was reported among the very elderly. It was observed that the manifestations of IPD were affected by age.

Methods

• The design of this research was a prospective, observational study.
• The recruitment constituted all cases (2435) of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults in Northern Alberta from 2000 to 2014.
• A comparison was performed of the rates of invasive pneumococcal disease/100,000, sociodemographic variables, clinical characteristics, and invasive pneumococcal disease -related outcomes for the following age groups - 17 to 54, 55 -64, 65 to 74 and 75 years and over.

Results

• The rate of invasive pneumococcal disease /100,000 increased with increasing age. 27.3% of the cases were in those 65 years of age and over, they were responsible for 48% of the deaths.
• The case fatality rate appeared to rise with increasing age from 9.6% for those 17-54 years of age to 31.7% for those 75 years of age and older.
• A decrease was noted in the rate of meningitis with increasing age, along with the admission to intensive care and use of mechanical ventilation.