• 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.

The high burden of pneumonia on US emergency departments during the 2009 influenza pandemic

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
J Infect. 2013 Oct 15. pii: S0163-4453(13)00306-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2013.10.005. [Epub ahead of print]
The high burden of pneumonia on US emergency departments during the 2009 influenza pandemic.
Self WH, Griffin MR, Zhu Y, Dupont WD, Barrett TW, Grijalva CG.
Source

Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University, 1313 21st Avenue South, 703 Oxford House, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. Electronic address: wesley.self@vanderbilt.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:

During the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, unusual influenza activity outside the typical winter season provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the association between influenza and pneumonia incidence. We sought to quantify the impact of the 2009 pandemic on the incidence of emergency department (ED) visits for pneumonia in the United States (US).
METHODS:

Using the Nationwide Emergency Department Survey, we estimated monthly counts and rates of excess all-cause pneumonia ED visits in the US attributable to the pandemic by comparing observed pneumonia ED visits during the pandemic (April 2009-March 2010) to expected values modeled from the three prior years.
RESULTS:

The pandemic was associated with an excess of 180,560 pneumonia ED visits or 0.59 excess pneumonia visits per 1000 US population (95% confidence interval: 0.55, 0.62). These excess visits accounted for 7.0% of all pneumonia ED visits during the pandemic year. The greatest excess occurred during months with highest influenza activity (September-November 2009). Persons aged <65 years accounted for 94% of the excess pneumonia visits.
CONCLUSIONS:

ED visits for pneumonia increased substantially during the 2009 pandemic, especially during peak influenza activity, suggesting a strong association between influenza activity and pneumonia incidence during the pandemic period.

Copyright ? 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
KEYWORDS:

Epidemiology, Influenza, Pneumonia

PMID:
24140066
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24140066
 
Back
Top Bottom