The comfort burden of seasonal influenza and influenza-like disease in hospitalized children: 2015-2016 season

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the comfort burden of hospitalized children admitted with influenza-like symptoms. Material and Methods: We prospectively followed patients with influenza-like symptoms between December 2015 and April 2016 in our tertiary care hospital within the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network®. The influenza polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was studied in the nasopharyngeal swab specimens taken from the participants, and the comfort burden of influenza on patients with or without influenza infection was evaluated. Results: A total of 132 children with symptoms of influenza infection presented to the Hacettepe University İhsan Doğramacı Children’s Hospital between December 2015 and April 2016 included in our study, and of these, the influenza virus was detected in 15 (11.3%), whose median age was 2.3 years (minimum-maximum: 35 days-12.3 years), while no influenza virus was detected in 117 patients. The median age of these patients was 2.2 years (minimum-maximum: 22 days-17.8 years). Similar findings were found in both groups in terms of hospitalization duration, school absenteeism, family night sleep disorder and parental work loss. Conclusion: Viral infections, especially influenza, are one of the leading causes of admission in children hospitals. Prospective studies involving larger patient groups are required to determine the comfort burden of such infections on affected individuals, families and society.