Abstract
BackgroundThe influenza season 2017–2018 of the northern hemisphere was the highest since 2001 and was caused predominantly by influenza B virus.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of all patients in a university hospital in northern Germany with laboratory-confirmed influenza during the winter season 2017–2018 and analyzed underlying conditions, complications, and outcome.ResultsA total of 272 cases of influenza were diagnosed: 70 influenza A (25.7%), 201 influenza B (73.9%), and 1 co-infection. Of 182 adults, 145 were hospitalized, 73 developed pneumonia, 11 developed myocardial infarction, two a transient ischemic attack, one a stroke, and one perimyocarditis. Eleven of the 145 hospitalized adult patients (7.6%) died, ten of them because of pneumonia. All of them had preexisting diseases. Pneumonia was associated with a mortality of 13.7%. Underlying cardiac insufficiency was correlated with higher mortality (7/51 with versus 4/126 patients without cardiac insufficiency; p < 0.05). Ninety cases of influenza were diagnosed in 89 children (30 A, 60 B), one child had first influenza B, then influenza A. Twenty-eight children (31%) were hospitalized, 15 children developed one or more complications (lower respiratory tract infections, meningeal irritations, febrile seizures, otitis media, myositis). No child died. Influenza vaccination status was known in 149 adult patients, pneumonia occurred more frequently in non-vaccinated individuals (43/90; 47.8%) than in vaccinated patients (18/59; 30.5%, p < 0.05).ConclusionPatients with influenza should be monitored for secondary pneumonia and myocardial infarction, and vaccination should be enforced especially in patients with coronary heart disease and cardiac insufficiency.
Highlights
Seasonal influenza, caused by influenza A or B viruses, is estimated to cause 300,000 to 650,000 deaths globally every year [1]
During the influenza season 2017–2018, a total of 334,000 cases of laboratory-diagnosed influenza were reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) by local health authorities, more than in any prior season since 2001 when reporting began according to the German Infection Protection Act (IfSG)
During the winter season 2017–2018, a total of 934 influenza tests were performed in the Rostock University Medical Center, Germany, between October 2017 and May 2018
Summary
Seasonal influenza, caused by influenza A or B viruses, is estimated to cause 300,000 to 650,000 deaths globally every year [1]. In 2018, an estimated 109.5 million cases of seasonal influenza occurred in children younger than 5 years worldwide, with an estimated death rate of 1:3150, nearly exclusively in developing countries [2]. In Germany, data on seasonal influenza are obtained by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). During the influenza season 2017–2018, a total of 334,000 cases of laboratory-diagnosed influenza were reported to the RKI by local health authorities, more than in any prior season since 2001 when reporting began according to the German Infection Protection Act (IfSG). A total of 1674 deaths due to influenza were reported, more than in any other year since 2001 [3].
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