Evaluate the effectiveness of Acute Flu Vaccination on Recurrent Cardiovascular Events (AFLUENT): A Pilot Randomised Clinical Trial

AFLUENT is a pragmatic, investigator initiated, open label, randomised, pilot clinical trial that will be undertaken within the Cardiology department at Royal Perth Hospital. This trial will compare an intervention of “early” routine influenza vaccination of patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction within one week of the event, to “standard care”, where patients will be advised to seek their influenza vaccination in the community at their own discretion with guidance from their primary care physician. As per guideline recommendations, it is specifically recommended that “high risk” cardiac patients such as those within this study population receive their influenza vaccination in the community prior to the onset of “flu season”. However, enrolment of trial patients into AFLUENT will occur all year round, regardless of whether it is “flu season” or not. It is anticipated that patients within the “standard care” group may delay their vaccination or not receive it at all. Thus, the trial is testing a strategy of routine early administration to all patients in the intervention group, with currently recommended strategy whereby patients are encouraged to access vaccination in the community but often do not. The likely failure of many control patients to seek vaccination plus the inevitable delay in doing so are fundamental to the design of this trial.