Increased Antiviral Treatment Among Hospitalized Children and Adults With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza, 2010-2015.

(See the Editorial Commentary by Martin on pages 368-9.)Using population-based surveillance data, we analyzed antiviral treatment among hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza. Treatment increased after the influenza A(H1N1) 2009 pandemic from 72% in 2010-2011 to 89% in 2014-2015 (P < .001). Overall, treatment was higher in adults (86%) than in children (72%); only 56% of cases received antivirals on the day of admission.

Does Influenza Vaccination Modify Influenza Severity? Data on Older Adults Hospitalized With Influenza During the 2012-2013 Season in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Some studies suggest that influenza vaccination might be protective against severe influenza outcomes in vaccinated persons who become infected. We used data from a large surveillance network to further investigate the effect of influenza vaccination on influenza severity in adults aged ≥50 years who were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza. METHODS: We analyzed influenza vaccination and influenza severity using Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) data for the 2012-2013 influenza season. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission, death, diagnosis of pneumonia, and hospital and ICU lengths of stay served as measures of disease severity. Data were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression, parametric survival models, and propensity score matching (PSM). RESULTS: Overall, no differences in severity were observed in the multivariable logistic regression model. Using PSM, adults aged 50-64 years (but not other age groups) who were vaccinated against influenza had a shorter length of ICU stay than those who were unvaccinated (hazard ratio for discharge, 1.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-3.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show a modest effect of influenza vaccination on disease severity. Analysis of data from seasons with different predominant strains and higher estimates of vaccine effectiveness are needed.

Impact of Prompt Influenza Antiviral Treatment on Extended Care Needs After Influenza Hospitalization Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Patients hospitalized with influenza may require extended care on discharge. We aimed to explore predictors for extended care needs and the potential mitigating effect of antiviral treatment among community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 65 years hospitalized with influenza. METHODS: We used laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations from 3 influenza seasons. Extended care was defined as new placement in a skilled nursing home/long-term/rehabilitation facility on hospital discharge. We focused on those treated with antiviral agents to explore the effect of early treatment on extended care and hospital length of stay using logistic regression and competing risk survival analysis, accounting for time from illness onset to hospitalization. Treatment was categorized as early (≤ 4 days) or late (>4 days) in reference to date of illness onset. RESULTS: Among 6593 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 65 years hospitalized for influenza, 18% required extended care at discharge. The need for care increased with age and neurologic disorders, intensive care unit admission, and pneumonia were predictors of care needs. Early treatment reduced the odds of extended care after hospital discharge for those hospitalized ≤ 2 or >2 days from illness onset (adjusted odds ratio, 0.38 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .17-.85] and 0.75 [.56-.97], respectively). Early treatment was also independently associated with reduction in length of stay for those hospitalized ≤ 2 days from illness onset (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.43-2.30) or >2 days (1.30; 1.20-1.40). CONCLUSIONS: Prompt antiviral treatment decreases the impact of influenza on older adults through shorten hospitalization and reduced extended care needs.

Obesity not associated with severity among hospitalized adults with seasonal influenza virus infection.

We examined seasonal influenza severity [artificial ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and radiographic-confirmed pneumonia] by weight category among adults hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza. Using multivariate logistic regression models, we found no association between obesity or severe obesity and artificial ventilation or ICU admission; however, overweight and obese patients had decreased risk of pneumonia. Underweight was associated with pneumonia (adjusted odds ratio 1.31; 95 % confidence interval 1.04, 1.64).

Haematological and serum biochemical parameters of West African Dwarf goats fed dried cassava leaves-based concentrate diets.

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding different levels of dried cassava leaves at 0%, 20%, 40% and 60%, respectively, using guinea grass as basal feed, on the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. The study lasted for 116 days during which haematological and serum biochemical parameters were monitored in 40 male goats before and after, using a completely randomized design. At the start of the experiment, packed cell volume (PCV) ranged from 21.5% to 25.5% while haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and RBC significantly (P < 0.01) ranged from 7.3 to 8.6 g/dl and 10.4 to 13.2 × 10(12)/l, respectively. White blood cells reduced significantly (P < 0.05)) from 16.4 to 11.7 × 10(9)/l) as dried cassava leaves increased in the diets. At the end of the trial, there was a slight increase in the values of PCV and Hb in the diets (P > 0.05). Lymphocyte reduced significantly (P < 0.05) from 50.0% to 63.5% in the diets. Neutrophils, however, increased (P > 0.05) at the 0% to 40% levels and reduced at the 60% level of dried cassava leaves inclusion. At the start of the experiment, values for glucose significantly (P < 0.05) ranged from 40.1 to 56.0 mg/dl. Total protein and albumin values ranged significantly (P < 0.05) from 56.0 to 68.5 g/dl and 30.6 to 38.4 g/dl, respectively. At the end of the experiment, serum creatinine increased significantly (P < 0.05) as the level of dried cassava leaves increased from 0% to 60% in the diets. The study revealed that inclusion of dried cassava leaves in the diets of West African Dwarf goats had no deleterious effects on the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of WAD goats and could therefore be included in ruminant diets up to 60%.

Influenza Antiviral Treatment and Length of Stay.

BACKGROUND: Antiviral treatment is recommended for hospitalized patients with suspected and confirmed influenza, but evidence is limited among children. We evaluated the effect of antiviral treatment on hospital length of stay (LOS) among children hospitalized with influenza. METHODS: We included children <18 years hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza in the US Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network. We collected data for 2 cohorts: 1 with underlying medical conditions not admitted to the ICU (n = 309, 2012-2013) and an ICU cohort (including children with and without underlying conditions; n = 299, 2010-2011 to 2012-2013). We used a Cox model with antiviral receipt as a time-dependent variable to estimate hazard of discharge and a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to determine LOS. RESULTS: Compared with those not receiving antiviral agents, LOS was shorter for those treated ≤2 days after illness onset in both the medical conditions (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.37, P = .02) and ICU (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.46, P = .007) cohorts, corresponding to 37% and 46% increases in daily discharge probability, respectively. Treatment ≥3 days after illness onset had no significant effect in either cohort. In the medical conditions cohort, median LOS was 3 days for those not treated versus 2 days for those treated ≤2 days after symptom onset (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Early antiviral treatment was associated with significantly shorter hospitalizations in children with laboratory-confirmed influenza and high-risk medical conditions or children treated in the ICU. These results support Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for prompt empiric antiviral treatment in hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed influenza.

Survey of influenza and other respiratory viruses diagnostic testing in US hospitals, 2012-2013.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about laboratory capacity to routinely diagnose influenza and other respiratory viruses at clinical laboratories and hospitals. AIMS: We sought to assess diagnostic practices for influenza and other respiratory virus in a survey of hospitals and laboratories participating in the US Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network in 2012-2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All hospitals and their associated laboratories participating in the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) were included in this evaluation. The network covers more than 80 counties in 15 states, CA, CO, CT, GA, MD, MN, NM, NY, OR, TN, IA, MI, OH, RI, and UT, with a catchment population of ~28 million people. We administered a standardized questionnaire to key personnel, including infection control practitioners and laboratory departments, at each hospital through telephone interviews. RESULTS: Of the 240 participating laboratories, 67% relied only on commercially available rapid influenza diagnostic tests to diagnose influenza. Few reported the availability of molecular diagnostic assays for detection of influenza (26%) and other viral pathogens (≤20%) in hospitals and commercial laboratories. CONCLUSION: Reliance on insensitive assays to detect influenza may detract from optimal clinical management of influenza infections in hospitals.

Incidence of medically attended influenza during pandemic and post-pandemic seasons through the Influenza Incidence Surveillance Project, 2009-13.

BACKGROUND: Since the introduction of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) to the USA in 2009, the Influenza Incidence Surveillance Project has monitored the burden of influenza in the outpatient setting through population-based surveillance. METHODS: From Oct 1, 2009, to July 31, 2013, outpatient clinics representing 13 health jurisdictions in the USA reported counts of influenza-like illness (fever including cough or sore throat) and all patient visits by age. During four years, staff at 104 unique clinics (range 35-64 per year) with a combined median population of 368,559 (IQR 352,595-428,286) attended 35,663 patients with influenza-like illness and collected 13,925 respiratory specimens. Clinical data and a respiratory specimen for influenza testing by RT-PCR were collected from the first ten patients presenting with influenza-like illness each week. We calculated the incidence of visits for influenza-like illness using the size of the patient population, and the incidence attributable to influenza was extrapolated from the proportion of patients with positive tests each week. FINDINGS: The site-median peak percentage of specimens positive for influenza ranged from 58.3% to 77.8%. Children aged 2 to 17 years had the highest incidence of influenza-associated visits (range 4.2-28.0 per 1000 people by year), and adults older than 65 years had the lowest (range 0.5-3.5 per 1000 population). Influenza A H3N2, pandemic H1N1, and influenza B equally co-circulated in the first post-pandemic season, whereas H3N2 predominated for the next two seasons. Of patients for whom data was available, influenza vaccination was reported in 3289 (28.7%) of 11,459 patients with influenza-like illness, and antivirals were prescribed to 1644 (13.8%) of 11,953 patients. INTERPRETATION: Influenza incidence varied with age groups and by season after the pandemic of 2009 influenza A H1N1. High levels of influenza virus circulation, especially in young children, emphasise the need for additional efforts to increase the uptake of influenza vaccines and antivirals. FUNDING: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.