title: Hospital preparedness and clinical description of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in a Belgian tertiary hospital.
abstract: We describe hospital preparedness, including costs, and clinical characteristics of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in adult patients in a Belgian tertiary care centre. A task force coordinated the overall management, including triage and hospitalisation. Between 1 June and 30 November 2009, 521 patients with influenza-like illness were admitted to the emergency ward. We reviewed data from 43 hospitalised patients with confirmed influenza A. Median age was 44 years (range: 21-79), with 84% patients having underlying disease. Eleven needed admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and one patient died. The financial impact of the epidemic was estimated at €75,691, and approximately half of these costs were related to the enhanced infection control practices. The Belgian 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, as described in a cohort of 43 hospitalised patients, was associated with a relatively high ICU admission rate of 26% and a fairly typical mortality rate of 3%. This retrospective study may help us refine the management of future epidemics.
authors.affiliation: Infection Control Unit, Brugmann University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. soraya.cherifi@chu-brugmann.be
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cherifi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reynders
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Theunissen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D004189:Disaster Planning; D005260:Female; D017721:Hospital Costs; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000191:economics; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058873:Pandemics / Q000191:economics*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D055815:Young Adult