Sobre la epidemia de influenza tipo A (H1N1) en el Hospital General de México

Introduction: We report our experience at the General Hospital of Mexico in Mexico City with the recent Influenza type A (H1N1) epidemic during the period of April 17 to June 9, 2009. Material and methods: Six thousand seven hundred and eighty adults and children with acute respiratory infections were studied at the Emergency and Outpatient Departments during that period. One hundred and twenty seven had a clinical picture suspicious for influenza, 67 of them tested positive for the preliminary serological test, later confirmed by rRT-PCR in 22 of them, including eight members of the health personnel that had been taking care of patients; their average age was 38 years. Results: Fifty five of the 127 suspected cases of influenza A (H1N1) were admitted to the hospital; the 127 received 75 mg q.12 hours of oseltamivir during five days. Forty nine were discharged; six succumbed from a few minutes to 4 days, average 1.5 days, after admission to the Emergency Department or the ICU, due to severe bilateral pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency and multisystemic failure. Forty seven had leucopenia, 8 had leukocytosis. Chest images included consolidations in all, extensive bilateral in 40, predominantly segmental in 9 and lobar in 6. Eighteen required tracheal intubation