Articles: pandemics.
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J Paediatr Child Health · Mar 2012
Novel inpatient surveillance in tertiary paediatric hospitals in New South Wales illustrates impact of first-wave pandemic influenza A H1N1 (2009) and informs future health service planning.
To document the impact of pandemic influenza A H1N1 (2009) in New South Wales (NSW) children's hospitals. ⋯ PAEDS is a valuable surveillance tool that documented the impact of the H1N1 (2009) pandemic in NSW children's hospitals. High numbers of complications, often in previously well children, suggest an important role for early diagnosis, antiviral therapy and influenza vaccination. Observed regional differences identify areas potentially at greater risk in a subsequent wave.
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Influenza A H1N1 2009 virus caused the first pandemic in an era when neuraminidase inhibitor antiviral drugs were available in many countries. The experiences of detecting and responding to resistance during the pandemic provided important lessons for public health, laboratory testing, and clinical management. ⋯ Sustained global monitoring for antiviral resistance among circulating influenza viruses is crucial to inform public health and clinical recommendations for antiviral use, especially since community spread of oseltamivir-resistant A H1N1 2009 virus remains a concern. Further studies are needed to better understand influenza management in specific patient groups, such as severely immunocompromised hosts, including optimisation of antiviral treatment, rapid sample testing, and timely reporting of susceptibility results.
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Mar 2012
Comparative StudyOtolaryngological complications in patients infected with the influenza A (H1N1) virus.
To describe bacterial upper respiratory infections in patients with influenza A (H1N1) virus during the 2009 pandemic. ⋯ There were few bacterial upper respiratory infections associated with influenza A (H1N1) (0.55%). The most common infections were acute otitis media in young children and acute rhinosinusitis and pharyngotonsillitis in young adults. These complications were more often seen during the 2 months following the influenza infection than at the time of diagnosis with influenza. Outcome was favorable for all patients.
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Pediatric emergency care · Mar 2012
Use of tent for screening during H1N1 pandemic: impact on quality and cost of care.
This article aimed to assess the impact on quality and cost of care of using a tent in the emergency department (ED) parking lot to screen patients with an influenza-like illness (ILI). ⋯ The tent provided cost-effective care with measurable improvements in quality of care indicators. Our analytic model demonstrated that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of tent during the H1N1 surge was modest. The tent may be a useful model during future pandemics.
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The role of law in managing public health challenges such as influenza pandemics poses special challenges. This article reviews Australian plans in the context of the H1N1 09 experience to assess whether risk management was facilitated or inhibited by the "number" of levels or phases of management, the degree of prescriptive detail for particular phases, the number of plans, the clarity of the relationship between them, and the role of the media. ⋯ It is suggested that this was because the plans proved to be frameworks for coordination rather than prescriptive straitjackets, to be only one component of the regulatory response, and to offer the varied tool box of possible responses, as called for by the theory of responsive regulation. Consistent with the principle of subsidiarity, it is argued that the plans did not inhibit localised responses such as selective school closures or rapid responses to selected populations such as cruise ship passengers.