Determinants of influenza patients requiring additional support in adult urban population

Background: Influenza is a global disease with frequent outbreaks which vary in extent and severity. Although Influenza Like Illness (ILI) has a low fatality, it can cause a spurt in hospitalizations and sick absenteeism. Understanding the risk factors and using the knowledge to limit complication is the need of the hour to ensure adequate resource allocation and patient outcome. Aim and Objective: The study analysed the proportion of influenza cases requiring additional supportive care and the factors associated with it in the study population. Material and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted on 139 patients who were admitted with ILI at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai. Patients records were evaluated in detail for clinical history, socio-demographic details, relevant co-morbidities, physical examination findings and imaging & laboratory investigations. IBM SPSS version 22 was used for statistical analysis. Results: The proportion of Influenza patients requiring additional support (IPRAS) was 18.71%(95% CI 13.1% to 26%) in the study population. The most common additional support was extra oxygen therapy in 53.85% of IPRAS patients. Conclusion: The risk factors with significant association with IPRAS were higher age of the individual, H1N1 influenza, female gender, and presence of 3 or more co-morbidities, presence of fever, cough or breathlessness at presentation, higher respiratory rate and lower SpO 2 at the time of presentation.