Clinical profile of patients admitted with swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection: An experience from a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

India saw its most crippling outbreak of the H1N1 influenza, also called swine flu five times more than previous year and more number deaths .Influenza spreads through droplets from infected individuals while speaking, coughing or sneezing. In present study we observed clinical profile of patients admitted with confirmed H1N1 swine flu infection and risk factors associated with need of mechanical ventilation and/ or death in Dr.Hedgewar Hospital, Aurangabad. Total 487 patients reported withInfluenza-like illness(ILI) and out of them 79 were tested for H1N1 out of them 21 (26.58%) were positive and were admitted and treated. This accounted for 4.3 % positivity.Out of those 14(66.66%) patients recovered well and they did not have any complications. However, 7(33.33%) had death. 14 out of 21 patients who required mechanical ventilation out of these seven patients who required invasive ventilation all died.We concluded the commonest cause of death was hypoxemic respiratory failure with or without acute respiratory distress syndrome and in some cases; it was multi organ dysfunction syndrome.Deranged LFT, Thrombocytopenia, relative lymphopaenia,shock and RDS were having poor outcome. Comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension and multi organ involvement were associated with very high mortality.