Volume 17, Number 10—October 2011
Letter
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and Seasonal Influenza A (H3N2) in Children’s Hospital, Australia
Gulam Khandaker, David Lester-Smith, Yvonne Zurynski, Elizabeth J. Elliott, and Robert Booy
Table
Comparison of influenza-related hospitalizations, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia, 2003, 2007, and 2009 influenza seasons*
| Characteristics† | 2009, pandemic (H1N1) 2009, no. (%), n = 167 | Seasonal influenza A (H3N2), no. (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007, n = 119 | 2003, n = 257‡ | ||
| PICU admissions | 18 (10.8) | 12 (10.1) | 22 (8.6) |
| Fatal cases (within 30 d of hospital admission) |
0 |
0 |
3 (1.2) |
| Ventilated | 7 (4.2) | 6 (5.0) | 14 (5.4) |
| Treated with antiviral drug§ |
92 (55.1) |
16 (13.4) |
0 |
| Symptoms | |||
| Vomiting‡ | 59 (35.3) | 16 (13.4) | NA |
| Diarrhea | 21 (12.6) | 8 (6.7) | NA |
| Seizure |
11 (6.6) |
7 (5.9) |
NA |
| Complications | |||
| Any complication | 65 (38.9) | 35 (29.4) | NA |
| Pneumonia¶ | 42 (25.1) | 15 (12.6) | NA |
| Encephalopathy |
5 (3.0) |
2 (1.7) |
NA |
| Preexisting condition | 78 (46.7) | 60 (50.4) | NA |
*PICU, pediatric intensive care unit; NA, not available.
†Length of hospital stay, mean (range), d: pandemic (H1N1) 2009, 5.9 (1–107); seasonal influenza in 2007, 4.1 (1–50); seasonal influenza in 2003, 4 (1–28). Length of PICU stay, mean (range), d: pandemic (H1N1) 2009, 3.7 (1–30); seasonal influenza in 2007, 4.3 (1–25); seasonal influenza in 2003, 3.3 (0.6–11.4) Data for length of PICU stay in 2003 exclude 3 deaths; 1.3, 2.3, and 4.8 d after PICU admission (2.8 d mean PICU stay).
‡Only isolates from the 22 PICU case-patients were subtyped; all were H3N2.
§p = 0.0001.
¶p = 0.0104.
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