Clinical characteristics of 75 pandemic H1N1 influenza patients from Turkey; risk factors for fatality.
OBJECTIVE
The 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic caused mild to severe illnesses and led to death in some cases. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between the serum D-dimer levels, CURB-65 scores, and the severity of pneumonia among patients with H1N1 infections.


METHODS
Sixty-eight patients who had probable H1N1 infections were evaluated by clinical, radiological, and laboratory methods. The H1N1 strain was specified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Of 55 patients diagnosed with pneumonia, 18 exhibited H1N1 positivity and 37 patients did not.


RESULTS
CURB-65 scores of pneumonia patients with H1N1 (group 1) were higher than those of patients without H1N1 (group 2) (P = 0.02). The D-dimer levels of group 1 were higher than those of group 2 (P = 0.001). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between D-dimer levels and CURB-65 scores in patients with H1N1-associated pneumonia (P = 0.001; r = 0.89).


CONCLUSIONS
Increased D-dimer levels were observed in pneumonia patients with H1N1 infection, which predicted the severity of pneumonia.
Hatice
H
Kiliç
Asiye
A
Kanbay
Ayşegül
A
Karalezli
Hatice Canan
HC
Hasanoğlu
Can
C
Ateş
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058873:Pandemics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
D015415:Biomarkers; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; C036309:fibrin fragment D