January 4, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Cox News Service) -- Sometimes a cough is more than a cough.

Pneumonia is continuing to be a deadly killer as our population ages, and a leading expert in the field isn't very encouraging about wiping it out.

"I actually think this trend is going to continue," says Dr. Dale Bratzler, of the recent findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A study showed a "substantial increase" over the past 15 years in the number of older adults, 65-84, being hospitalized for pneumonia, a name applied to many different diseases that involve infection or inflammation of the lungs.

"The good news is there are some things we can do to perhaps stem the tide a bit," says Bratzler, an Oklahoma doctor who is the coordinator for the Medicare national pneumonia project and a past president of the American Health Quality Association.

But one of the stumbling blocks is sometimes the seniors, themselves. They fail to get flu shots when they should, and some even fear the vaccine.

"Flu shots for everybody at risk is essential. Only about two-thirds of the seniors get the shot each year. There's still a lot of myths that they'll get sick from it. It's one of the safest vaccines we have," he says, emphasizing again, "It's a complete myth that you can get sick from the influenza vaccine."

Dispelling this myth is crucial, since pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death among older adults.

The authors of the JAMA study also called for increased vaccination of older people in their report, as well as greater efforts to prevent chronic diseases so the elderly have a chance at maintaining stronger immune systems.

"A lot of times people go to the doctor, think they have a minor infection, and it turns out to be pneumonia, something much more serious," agrees Dr. Allen Rosen, a West Palm Beach pulmonologist on the board of the American Lung Association of South Florida.

Part of the problem, he sees, is the overuse of antibiotics that have led to drug resistance for pneumonia treatment. And hand-in-hand with that, he said, is the high cost of the anti-pneumonia vaccine, which is another and a separate step against the disease turning deadly.

"The price of the (pneumonia) vaccine has gone through the roof," Rosen said. "Each injection costs about $40 per injection for a physician."

And because reimbursement from Medicare may be much lower, "a lot of doctors don't have it."

The pneumonia vaccine doesn't prevent a person from getting the condition, but it does prevent people "from getting sicker with the bloodstream infection that's associated with high mortality rates," Bratzler, the Oklahoma doctor, points out.

His advice to avoid pneumonia?

"Stay active, don't smoke. Keep moving. Immobilization can mean loss of some lung capacity.

"We don't know a lot about how to prevent pneumonia. We need better vaccines that really do prevent pneumonia. And as we immunize more children (against flu) -- they're often the reservoirs for infections -- the carriers are reduced."