Oseltamivir treatment for influenza in hospitalized children without underlying diseases
Mercedes Bueno1, Cristina Calvo, Ana Méndez-Echevarría
1From the *Fundación Hospital Alcorcón, †Severo Ochoa Hospital, ‡Hospital Infantil La Paz, §Hospital Gregorio Marañón, ¶Hospital Puerta de Hierro, ‖Hospital 12 de Octubre, **Hospital de Getafe, ††Hospital Ramón y Cajal, ‡‡Hospital del Sureste and §§Hospital Infanta Sofía, Madrid, Spain.
Insights
Oseltamivir did not improve outcomes for hospitalized children with influenza and no underlying conditions. This study found no significant differences in fever duration, hospital stay, or complications between treated and untreated children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Antiviral Therapy Research
- Influenza Management
Background:
- Influenza is a common viral respiratory illness in children.
- Antiviral medications like oseltamivir are used to treat influenza.
- The efficacy of oseltamivir in otherwise healthy hospitalized children requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of oseltamivir in improving outcomes for pediatric patients hospitalized with confirmed influenza.
- To assess if oseltamivir reduces fever duration, length of hospital stay, hypoxia, or complications in children without underlying diseases.
Main Methods:
- A multicentric, retrospective study involving 10 hospitals in Madrid (2010-2012).
- Included children with confirmed influenza, excluding those with risk factors for severe disease or nosocomial infections.
- Compared outcomes between children treated with oseltamivir and those not treated, analyzing fever duration, oxygen support, hospital stay, and complications.
Main Results:
- 287 children were analyzed; 93 (32%) received oseltamivir.
- No significant differences were observed in fever duration, length of stay, hypoxia, bacterial pneumonia incidence, intensive care admission, or antibiotic use between groups.
- Stratified analysis by age or asthma status also showed no significant differences in outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Oseltamivir treatment did not demonstrate significant benefits for hospitalized pediatric patients with uncomplicated influenza.
- The findings suggest that oseltamivir may not be beneficial for children without risk factors for severe influenza illness.
- Even in children with asthma, oseltamivir did not appear to alter clinical outcomes in this cohort.
Aim:
To determine whether the treatment with oseltamivir improves the outcome of children with confirmed influenza infection and no other underlying disease.
Methods:
Multicentric, retrospective study performed in 10 hospitals of Madrid between September 2010 and June 2012. All children admitted to the hospitals with confirmed influenza infections were eligible. Children with risk factors for serious disease and nosocomial influenza infections were excluded. Asthma was not considered an exclusion factor. The study compared patients treated and untreated with oseltamivir. Fever duration, oxygen support, antibiotics administration, length of hospital stay, intensive care admission and bacterial complications were analyzed. To compare variables, χ(2) test, Fisher exact test, ANOVA or Mann-Whitney U test were used.
Results:
Two hundred eighty-seven children were included and 93 of them were treated with oseltamivir (32%). There were no significant differences between treated and untreated patients in days of fever after admission (1.7 ± 2; 2.1 ± 2.9, P > 0.05), length of stay (5.2 ± 3.6; 5.5 ± 3.4, P > 0.05), days of hypoxia (1.6 ± 2.3; 2.1 ± 2.9, P > 0.05), diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia (10%; 17%, P > 0.05), intensive care admission (6.5%; 1.5%,P > 0.05) or antibiotic prescription (44%; 51%, P > 0.05). There were no differences when the population was stratified by age (below or over 1 year) or by the presence or absence of asthma.
Conclusions:
There were no proven benefits of treatment with oseltamivir in hospitalized pediatric patients without the underlying diseases or risk factors for developing a serious illness, including those with asthma.
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