Abstract
The aim of this retrospective cohort study at eight hospitals in Germany was to specify influenza-associated in-hospital mortality during the 2017/2018 flu season, which was the strongest in Germany in the past 30 years. A total of 1560 patients were included in the study. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 6.7% (n = 103), in patients treated in the intensive care unit (n = 161) mortality was 22.4%. The proportion of deceased patients per hospital was between 0% and 7.0%. Influenza was the immediate cause of death in 82.8% (n = 82) of the decedents.
Highlights
It is estimated that 5–20% of the population contracts influenza in an average flu season [1]
If an increase in mortality is observed which is significantly higher than background mortality, this is attributed to influenza
103 [6.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.5–8.1%] out of 1539 patients died during their hospital stay
Summary
It is estimated that 5–20% of the population contracts influenza in an average flu season [1]. One-third of the total burden of all infectious diseases, measured in disability-adjusted life years, is attributable to influenza [2]. It has been recognized for many years that influenza is underreported on death certificates. It is, common practice to estimate mortality attributed to influenza with statistical methods [3]. Common practice to estimate mortality attributed to influenza with statistical methods [3] This so-called excess mortality is obtained by subtracting the expected mortality (i.e. background mortality) from the observed mortality during an influenza season. The need for intensive care support was assessed, an important number to describe severity of disease
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