title: Viral load at diagnosis and influenza A H1N1 (2009) disease severity in children.
abstract: To assess viral load at diagnosis (VLAD) as a biomarker of novel influenza disease severity, epidemiologic and clinical data of admitted patients <18 years old with Influenza A H1N1 (2009) infection and respiratory symptoms were prospectively collected in a single pediatric tertiary hospital, from weeks 30-51 of 2009. Seventy patients were included. VLAD in children who had symptoms for ≥ 5 days was an accurate parameter distinguishing the patients who required mechanical ventilation (MV) from those who did not required it (area under the ROC curve: 0.73; P=0.03). Having <4.5 log10 copies/ml with ≥ 5 days of symptoms was associated with a lower risk of requiring MV.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Launes
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Garcia-Garcia
authors.forename: Iolanda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selva
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rello
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Almagro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019562:Viral Load