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Comparing clinical characteristics between hospitalized adults with laboratory-confirmed influenza A and B virus

Su Su1, Sandra S Chaves2, Alejandro Perez2

  • 1Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta Research and Education Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia.

Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
|April 22, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Influenza B is not milder than influenza A in adults. Hospitalized patients infected with either virus showed similar clinical outcomes and mortality rates, even when treated with oseltamivir.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Virology
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Influenza A and B are the primary causes of seasonal influenza epidemics.
  • Influenza B is often perceived as causing milder illness than influenza A.
  • Limited comparative data exists on clinical severity between influenza A and B in hospitalized adults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized adult patients with influenza A versus influenza B.
  • To challenge the prevailing notion of influenza B being a milder infection.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of hospitalized adult influenza cases.
  • Comparison of clinical features, length of hospital stay, and mortality between influenza A and B groups.
  • Analysis of outcomes in patients treated with oseltamivir.

Main Results:

  • Hospitalized adults with influenza A and B exhibited similar clinical characteristics.
  • No significant difference in length of hospital stay was observed between influenza A and B infections.
  • Mortality rates were comparable between the two influenza types in patients treated with oseltamivir.

Conclusions:

  • Influenza B is not inherently milder than influenza A in hospitalized adult populations.
  • Clinical severity and outcomes do not significantly differ between influenza A and B.
  • Oseltamivir treatment did not reveal differential effectiveness based on influenza type in this cohort.
Keywords:
adultantiviral treatmenthospitalizationinfluenza A and B virus infection

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