Influenza and other respiratory viruses
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Influenza Other Respi Viruses · May 2013
Review Meta AnalysisCan procalcitonin tests aid in identifying bacterial infections associated with influenza pneumonia? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
To summarize evidence for the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT) tests for identifying secondary bacterial infections in patients with influenza. ⋯ Procalcitonin tests have a high sensitivity, particularly for ICU patients, but a low specificity for identifying secondary bacterial infections among patients with influenza. Because of its suboptimal positive likelihood ratio and good negative likelihood ratio, it can be used as a suitable rule-out test but cannot be used as a standalone rule-in test.
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Influenza Other Respi Viruses · May 2013
Clinical features of the hospitalized patients with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in Santa Fe, Argentina.
During 2009 occurred the emergence and global spread of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. We describe the clinical and epidemiologic features of hospitalized patients who survived and patients who died because of pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) infection reported in Santa Fe, Argentina, from May to July 2009. ⋯ The pandemic strain caused severe illness, including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, and resulted in ICU admissions in 46% of patients and death in 33·5%. The mean age of hospitalized infected cases was lower than is common with seasonal influenza. Underlying medical conditions were common in the 67% the evaluated patients. Patients who died had a higher prevalence of comorbidities (86·4%) than those who survived (57%), suggesting that the presence of chronic illness may increase the likelihood of death. However, the severe illness was also identified among young, healthy persons.
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Influenza Other Respi Viruses · May 2013
Antibody responses against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus after sequential vaccination with pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines in Finnish healthcare professionals.
Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus has been circulating in human population for three epidemic seasons. During this time, monovalent pandemic and trivalent seasonal influenza vaccination against this virus have been offered to Finnish healthcare professionals. It is, however, unclear how well vaccine-induced antibodies recognize different strains of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 circulating in the population and whether the booster vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccine would broaden the antibody cross-reactivity. ⋯ Even a few amino acid changes in influenza A HA may compromise the vaccine-induced antibody recognition. Older adults (49 years and older) may benefit more from repeated influenza vaccinations.
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Influenza Other Respi Viruses · Mar 2013
Multicenter StudyRisk factors and effectiveness of preventive measures against influenza in the community.
The role of different risk exposures and preventive measures against influenza has not been well established. ⋯ The home environment appears to play an important role in the spread of influenza in adults, but not the use of public transport. Health care workers have a higher risk of contracting influenza. Vaccination was the most effective preventive measure.
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Influenza Other Respi Viruses · Mar 2013
Increased reactions to pediatric influenza vaccination following concomitant pneumococcal vaccination.
Influenza in children causes significant morbidity and hospitalizations and also some mortality particularly in children < 5 years of age. Influenza vaccination in children has been shown to be safe and effective, but in 2010 the pediatric influenza vaccination program was suspended in Western Australia after the rate of febrile convulsions observed (9/1000 doses) was 55 times the previously reported rate. In 2009, over 80% of all children in New Brunswick were vaccinated with an adjuvanted monovalent H1N1 vaccine shown to have very high effectiveness, raising the prospect of potential hyper-responsiveness because of residual protection. We conducted enhanced post-marketing surveillance to monitor local and general reactions. ⋯ Influenza vaccines in children are safe, and this study provides a baseline for rapid assessment studies at the start of a vaccine season. Parents should be aware of increased fevers with concurrent vaccine administration, and antipyretics should be considered.