1 - Serviço de Pediatria, Unidade Local de Saúde do Baixo Alentejo, Beja
2 - Unidade de Infecciologia Pediátrica. Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisboa
- 37th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, reunião internacional
Background: Influenza, a seasonal infection generally considered benign, can occur with complications.
Methods: Retrospective study from September 2017 to June 2018 (10 months). Social, demographic, epidemiological and clinical data were evaluated. Influenza virus was detected by polymerase chain reaction in respiratory secretions.
Results: There were 68 cases, with a median age of 4.5 years (51% <2 years). The peak incidence occurred in January and February (75%). There was an initial circulation of the H1N1(n=34) and H3N2 (n=10), followed by Influenza B (n=25), considering that the strains that circulated were not covered by the vaccine. 40/68 (59%) patients had a known chronic disease: neurological (8), haematological (6), asthma/recurrent wheezing (6), and/or another risk factor (20). Only 4/68 (5.9%) were vaccinated with the trivalent vaccine (H1N1, H3N2 and B Vitoria strain). Respiratory symptoms were the most common (70%) presentation symptoms. Complications occurred in 26/68 (38%) patients: bacterial co-infection (21), pneumonia (12), otitis (6), bacteraemia (1) and Toxic Shock Syndrome (2). Other complications included hypoxemia (12), pleural effusion (3), atelectasis (2) and pneumothorax (1). A sepsis death was recorded, in a liver transplanted patient. Influenza nosocomial infection occurred in 24%. The median length of hospital stay was 7.6 days, corresponding to direct daily costs of 4134€ per patient.
Conclusion: Influenza virus is a serious illness at early ages and in patients with chronic diseases, with high costs. As verified in previous studies, the vaccination of risk groups is still insufficient. Quadrivalent vaccine may be an asset in the future.
Palavras Chave: Influenza, Pediatrics, vaccination, virus