• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

Influenza outbreak control practices and the effectiveness of interventions in long-term care facilities: a systematic review

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2014 Jan;8(1):74-82. doi: 10.1111/irv.12203. Epub 2013 Nov 7.
Influenza outbreak control practices and the effectiveness of interventions in long-term care facilities: a systematic review.
Rainwater-Lovett K, Chun K, Lessler J.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Evaluation of influenza control measures frequently focuses on the efficacy of chemoprophylaxis and vaccination, while the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) receives less emphasis. While influenza control measures are frequently reported for individual outbreaks, there have been few efforts to characterize the real-world effectiveness of these interventions across outbreaks.
OBJECTIVES:

To characterize influenza case and outbreak definitions and control measures reported by long-term care facilities (LTCFs) of elderly adults and estimate the reduction in influenza-like illness (ILI) attack rates due to chemoprophylaxis and NPI.
METHODS:

We conducted a literature search in PubMed including English-language studies reporting influenza outbreaks among elderly individuals in LTCFs. A Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression model estimated the effects of control measures on ILI attack rates.
RESULTS:

Of 654 articles identified in the literature review, 37 articles describing 60 influenza outbreaks met the inclusion criteria. Individuals in facilities where chemoprophylaxis was used were significantly less likely to develop influenza A or B than those in facilities with no interventions [odds ratio (OR) 0?48, 95% CI: 0?28, 0?84]. Considered by drug class, adamantanes significantly reduced infection risk (OR 0?22, 95% CI: 0?12, 0?42), while neuraminidase inhibitors did not show a significant effect. Although NPI showed no significant effect, the results suggest that personal protective equipment may produce modest protective effects.
CONCLUSIONS:

Our results indicate pharmaceutical control measures have the clearest reported protective effect in LTCFs. Non-pharmaceutical approaches may be useful; however, most data were from observational studies and standardized reporting or well-conducted clinical trials of NPI are needed to more precisely measure these effects.

? 2013 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
KEYWORDS:

Attack rate, influenza, intervention, long-term care facility

PMID:
24373292
[PubMed - in process]
PMCID:
PMC3877675
[Available on 2015/1/1]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24373292
 
Back
Top Bottom