title: [Epidemiologic and clinical parameters in hospitalized patients with novel Influenza A (H1N1) in Taranto province, Italy].
abstract: The global spread of novel influenza A (H1N1) led the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic on June 11, 2009. Our study aimed to describe the epidemiologic and clinical parameters of hospitalized patients during the pandemic. Fifty-one persons with suspected influenza A H1N1 were hospitalized. Thirty-two of them (14 male and 18 female) were positive for novel influenza A (H1N1) viral RNA by real time PCR in nasopharyngeal specimens. Of those who tested positive, 46.8% (15 patients) were aged between 25-49 years and only 9.3% (3) were over 65 years old. Nineteen of the 32 presented a co-morbidity. The mean duration of hospitalization was 6.5 days (range 3-19). An influenza complication was presented by 68.7% of patients (all of them older than 65 years), which in most cases was pulmonary disease (18 bronchopneumonia, 2 interstitial pneumonia). Four patients required mechanical ventilation in Intensive Therapy Care. One patient died of a concomitant myopericarditis. Of the patients with influenza complications, 60% presented co-morbidity conditions. Neurologic complication (encephalitis) occurred in two young women; prognosis was good and without neurologic sequelae. In conclusion, our data do not show a correlation between gender and risk of hospitalization or influenza complication. The presence of co-morbidity does not increase the risk of pulmonary complication, which is more frequent among young adults.
authors.affiliation: S.C. Malattie Infettive, Presidio Ospedaliero Centrale, Stabilimento San G. Moscati, AUSL Taranto, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buccoliero
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romanelli
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lonero
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Loperfido
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chimienti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Resta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral