tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Int J Infect Dis. 2012 Apr 19. [Epub ahead of print]
Clinical characteristics of influenza A H1N1 versus other influenza-like illnesses amongst outpatients attending a university health center in Oman.
Al-Mahrezi A, Samir N, Al-Zakwani I, Al-Muharmi Z, Balkhair A, Al-Shafaee M.
Source
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 38, PC 123, Al-Khod, Muscat, Oman.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To identify the clinical characteristics of outpatients with flu-like illnesses stratified by influenza A H1N1 status.
METHODS:
The study was conducted at the H1N1 staff clinic of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman. The population consisted of university students and university/hospital staff and their family members. All adult patients who presented to the H1N1 clinic with an influenza-like illness over a 4-month period (from August until the end of November 2009) were included. Real-time reverse transcriptase (rRT) PCR was used for the diagnosis of H1N1 influenza. Demographic data, clinical signs and symptoms, history of exposure to H1N1, history of recent travel, and co-morbid conditions were documented. Analyses were conducted using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques.
RESULTS:
Out of the 2318 patients identified, 27% (n=616) were positive for H1N1 influenza. The mean temperature in the H1N1-positive group was significantly higher than in the negative group (38.3?C vs. 37.2?C; p<0.001). Proportions of patients who reported cough, sore throat, headache, myalgia, gastrointestinal symptoms, exposure to a confirmed case of H1N1, and a history of travel were significantly higher in the H1N1-positive group as compared to the swab-negative group. However, the multivariable logistic model identified only the following significant predictor variables of H1N1 infection: younger age, fever (≥37.8?C), sore throat, myalgia, diarrhea, and exposure to a confirmed H1N1 case within the last 7 days.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study provides useful data on the clinical characteristics of H1N1 influenza in a large outpatient population from the Middle East. Patients who tested positive for H1N1 were more likely to have fever, sore throat, diarrhea, and myalgia compared to those with other influenza-like illnesses.
Copyright ? 2012 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID:
22521779
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22521779
Clinical characteristics of influenza A H1N1 versus other influenza-like illnesses amongst outpatients attending a university health center in Oman.
Al-Mahrezi A, Samir N, Al-Zakwani I, Al-Muharmi Z, Balkhair A, Al-Shafaee M.
Source
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 38, PC 123, Al-Khod, Muscat, Oman.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To identify the clinical characteristics of outpatients with flu-like illnesses stratified by influenza A H1N1 status.
METHODS:
The study was conducted at the H1N1 staff clinic of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman. The population consisted of university students and university/hospital staff and their family members. All adult patients who presented to the H1N1 clinic with an influenza-like illness over a 4-month period (from August until the end of November 2009) were included. Real-time reverse transcriptase (rRT) PCR was used for the diagnosis of H1N1 influenza. Demographic data, clinical signs and symptoms, history of exposure to H1N1, history of recent travel, and co-morbid conditions were documented. Analyses were conducted using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques.
RESULTS:
Out of the 2318 patients identified, 27% (n=616) were positive for H1N1 influenza. The mean temperature in the H1N1-positive group was significantly higher than in the negative group (38.3?C vs. 37.2?C; p<0.001). Proportions of patients who reported cough, sore throat, headache, myalgia, gastrointestinal symptoms, exposure to a confirmed case of H1N1, and a history of travel were significantly higher in the H1N1-positive group as compared to the swab-negative group. However, the multivariable logistic model identified only the following significant predictor variables of H1N1 infection: younger age, fever (≥37.8?C), sore throat, myalgia, diarrhea, and exposure to a confirmed H1N1 case within the last 7 days.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study provides useful data on the clinical characteristics of H1N1 influenza in a large outpatient population from the Middle East. Patients who tested positive for H1N1 were more likely to have fever, sore throat, diarrhea, and myalgia compared to those with other influenza-like illnesses.
Copyright ? 2012 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID:
22521779
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22521779