Salāmat-i ijtimā̒ī (May 2019)
Epidemiological, Clinical and Para-clinical Characteristics of Patients with Influenza Infection admitted in Hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2016
Abstract
Background and Objective: Influenza is one of the acute respiratory diseases that are disseminated throughout the world, causing various epidemics each year. Considering the effect of regional and genetic factors as well as immunity history on the incidence and severity of the disease, the need for a statistical study of the region is felt in any infectious disease. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological, clinical and para-clinical characteristics of patients with Influenza confirmed by positive polymerase chain reaction admitted in Hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among all patients with influenza symptoms who were admitted to hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2016 and their Influenza infection was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Among all admitted patients in the hospitals, data of 206 patients who were admitted for at least 24 hours in infectious, intensive care or cardiac care and internal medicine units were collected using a checklist. The data were analyzed via SPSS software version 21. Results: Among the admitted patients, 104 (50.5%) were female and 102 (49.5%) were male. Among the age groups, the majority of patients were over 65 years old (35.9%), 21.4% were 55-64, and 11.7% were 45-54 years old. The majority of pharyngeal samples, 70.4%, were from H3N2 serotype, 17.5% were from type B and 12.1% type A without subtyping. The most common influenza symptoms, were cough: 189 (91.7%), fever above 38 ° C: 178 (86.4%), dyspnea: 132 (64.1%), difficulty breathing: 53 (25.7%) and sore throat: 33 (16%). In total, 189 (91.7%) patients were recovered and discharged, 16 (7.8%) passed away and one was transferred to another hospital. Ten of the patients who had passed away were suffering from an underlying illness, the most prevalent of which were cardiac and pulmonary diseases (50%), and six patients had two underlying illnesses. Conclusion: The majority of patients were over 65 years old, and the incidence of illness was similar among women and men. The most common serotypes isolated from the pharyngeal samples were influenza A (H3N2) and B type. The most common symptoms were cough, fever and dyspnea, and the most common side effects were primary pneumonia, secondary pneumonia, and bronchitis. The mortality rate was 7.8%. DOI: http://doi.org/10.22037/ch.v6i3.23026.
