Influenza-related hospitalizations due to acute lower respiratory tract infections in a tertiary care children's hospital in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The influenza virus is a significant cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) requiring hospitalization in childhood and leads to severe morbidity and mortality, especially in certain risk groups.

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to evaluate acute LRTI due to influenza in a tertiary care hospital and the risk factors for hospitalization among Turkish children.

STUDY DESIGN: Children between 1 month and 18 years of age who were hospitalized at Dr. Behçet Uz Children's Hospital between January 2016 and March 2018 with lower respiratory tract infection that tested positive for influenza by PCR were included. Children with viral coinfections were excluded. Patient files were retrospectively scanned from the hospital computerized system in terms of age, underlying diseases, whether antiviral therapy was used, and length of hospital stay. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software.

RESULTS: The study included 131 patients with a median age of 2 years (1 month-15 years). Sixty-seven (51,1%) patients were younger than two years. Influenza A was isolated in 129 patients and B in 2 patients. Fifty-two patients (39,7%) had underlying medical conditions, and the most common one was malignancies (12/52, 23%). This was followed by neurodevelopmental diseases (9/52, 17,3%), prematurity (9/52 patients, 17,3%), primary immunodeficiency (8/52, 15,4%), asthma (7/52, 13,4%), Down syndrome (4/52, 7,7%), chronic renal disease (2/52, 3,8%) and congenital heart diseases (1/52, 1,9%). The mean length of stay (LOS) was 12,3 ± 9,5 days (2-60 days). The LOS was found to be statistically longer (15,2 ± 12,1 days, 3-60 days) in patients with an underlying disease compared to previously healthy patients (10,4 ± 6,7 days, 2-35 days) (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization due to influenza-related acute LRTI is not an issue only for patients with an underlying medical condition. Vaccination should be considered not only for those with underlying medical conditions but also for healthy children.