Ylipalosaari P, et al. - In a single mixed intensive care unit (ICU) patients with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09, a comparison was performed between pandemic and postpandemic periods. Researchers observed that postpandemic ICU-treated A(H1N1) pdm09 influenza patients were older and developed septic shock more frequently and had longer hospital stays than influenza patients during the 2009 pandemic.

Methods

• Researchers performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in 2009–2016.
• They expressed data as median (25th–75th percentile) or number (percentile).

Results

• Researchers recognized admissions to the ICU of 76 influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 patients: 16 during the pandemic period and 60 during the postpandemic period.
• Postpandemic patients were significantly older compared with pandemic patients (60 years vs. 43 years, p < 0.001).
• Epilepsy or other neurological diseases were less frequently observed among postpandemic patients compared with pandemic patients (5 [8.3%] vs. 6 [38%], respectively; p=0.009).
• Cardiovascular disease were more frequent among postpandemic patients than pandemic patients (24 [40%] vs. 1 [6%], respectively; p=0.015).
• Postpandemic patients compared to pandemic patients had higher scores on APACHE II (17 [13–22] vs. 14 [10–17], p=0.002) and SAPS II (40 [31–51] vs. 31 [25–35], p=0.002) upon admission to the ICU.
• During the ICU stay, postpandemic patients indicated higher maximal SOFA score (9 [5–12] vs. 5 [4–9], respectively; p=0.03).
• Among postpandemic patients, they more often identified septic shock (40 [66.7%] vs. 8 [50.0%], p=0.042), and longer median hospital stays (15.0 vs. 8.0 days, respectively; p=0.006).
• Only 18% of the ICU- treated patients had received seasonal influenza vaccination during 2015–2016.