Clinical Profile of Suspected and Confirmed H1N1 Influenza Infection in Patients admitted at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical profile and outcomes of adult patients screened and diagnosed with H1N1 influenza infection at a tertiary care hospital in India. <br/>Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on all adult patients suspected of H1N1 influenza admitted at a teaching hospital during the epidemic period of January-March 2015. Patients were screened and classified into three categories of A, B, and C based on international guidelines. Home confinement was recommended for patients in category A, and subjects in category B received <em>treatment with </em>Oseltamivir capsules. In addition, patients in category C received inpatient treatment with oseltamivir capsules. <br/>Results: In total, 695 patients were screened for H1N1 influenza infection during the epidemic, out of whom 380 patients (54.6%) were in category A, 264 (37.9%) were in category B, and 51 (7.3%) were in category C. Throat swabs were collected and examined for 192 ( 27.6%) patients, and 59 ( 8.4%) cases were positive for H1N1 infection. <br/>Conclusion: According to the results of this study, close vigilance over the symptoms of patients infected with H1N1 influenza is more important than treatment and screening of suspicious cases during the epidemics of this infection. This is a retrospective cross sectional study. Hence, there were no comparative controls. The limitation of this study is, thus the lack of control.