CLINICAL PROFILE AND OUTCOME OF INFLUENZA A (H1N1) PATIENT IN TERTIARY CARE CENTRE: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Dr. Anita Basavaraj, Dr. Ajit Hange*, Dr. Neha Kadam-Duke, Dr. Vaibhav Lamdhade, Dr. Chaitanya Patil

ABSTRACT

Epidemic of Influenza A (H1N1) in 2009 caused significant morbidity and mortality throughout the world. A re‑emergence of hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1 (H1N1) influenza cases had been noted in India and number of positive cases increased in the year 2015 and 2017. It was a challenging for the health authorities and health centers to deal with the epidemic. The objectives of the present study was to study clinical profile of H1N1 positive patients and its outcome in tertiary care rural hospital. Materials and Methods:This study is a prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary care rural hospital with approval from institutional Ethics Committee for Academic Research projects. The data of 77 influenza A (H1N1) positive patients either diagnosed at our hospital or pre-diagnosed patients referred to our hospital since June 2017 to December 2018 were evaluated in the study. Results: A total of 77 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza were detected during the study period of which 36 required Intensive Care Unit admission. Most patients were between 41 and 60 years. The predominant presenting symptoms were fever (94.81%), cough (81.82%), breathlessness (76.62%), and the most common auscultatory finding was bilateral crepitations (70.12%). Around 33.78% of cases presented with diffuse bilateral lung infiltrates on X‑ray. 70 of 77 patients (90.90%) survived the disease. Conclusions: Early recognition of the disease, and prompt initiation of treatment seem to be the only way to reduce H1N1 disease progression and associated mortality.

Keywords: Hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1 subtype, India, influenza A virus, Intensive Care Units, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.