Direct Medical Costs of Four Vaccine-Preventable Infectious Diseases in Older Adults in Spain.

Objective: Protection against vaccine-preventable diseases is especially relevant in older adults due to age-related decline in immunity (immunosenescence). However, adult vaccination remains a challenge with overall low coverage rates, which has an impact on both the patients who have these diseases and the health care system in terms of resource use and costs derived. This study aimed to estimate the direct economic impact of herpes zoster, pneumococcal disease, influenza and pertussis in Spanish adults 45 years and older.

Economic Burden and Impact on Quality of Life of Herpes Zoster in Spanish Adults Aged 50 Years or Older: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: The economic burden of herpes zoster (HZ), including its most common complication, postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQL) is not well described in Spain. The aim of this study was to estimate HZ-related healthcare costs and impact on HRQL in Spanish adults aged 50 years or older.

Methods: A prospective, observational study was performed with patients with HZ recruited through four general practitioner networks in Spain (NCT01521286).

[Quo vadis in vaccines: From the empirical approach to the new wave of technology].

The development of vaccines is a multifactorial process that has evolved and expanded, particularly over the last decades. The search for immunogenic vaccines that are also acceptably safe and tolerable enacted continuous technological advances in this field. In this regard, the technology applied to vaccines can historically be divided into 3 approaches: the empirical approach, the modern approach, and the new technological wave.