Nosocomial influenza in a pediatric general ward: Effects of isolation and cohort placement of children with influenza.

Abstract

Many studies have described nosocomial outbreaks of influenza in specialized wards. We evaluated nosocomial transmission of influenza in a pediatric general ward. Retrospective observational study. Single secondary hospital. The study included 814 hospitalized children with influenza between September 2015 and August 2020. The medical records of the included children were retrospectively reviewed, and clinical characteristics of children with community-acquired (CA) influenza and hospital-acquired (HA) influenza were determined. The room of each included child during hospitalization was traced to identify the children exposed to them. CA influenza and HA influenza were diagnosed in 789 (96.9%) and 25 (3.1%) children, respectively. Among children with CA influenza, 691 (87.6%) were isolated or place in a cohort on admission. In total, 98 children (12.4%) admitted to multibed rooms exposed 307 children with noninfluenza diseases to influenza during 772 patient days; 3 exposed children (1.0%) were diagnosed with HA influenza. Including these 3 children, 25 children (19 without definite in-hospital exposure to influenza and 3 exposed to other children with HA influenza) were diagnosed with HA influenza, and 11 (44.0%) exposed 31 children with noninfluenza diseases to influenza for 85 patient days. Also, 3 exposed children (9.7%) were diagnosed with HA influenza, a significantly higher rate than that for CA influenza (P = .005). The clinical characteristics were comparable between children with HA influenza and those with CA influenza. Cohort placement of children with influenza in a pediatric general ward can be effective in controlling nosocomial transmission of influenza. However, control measures for children with HA influenza should be emphasized.