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While not in the same league as the pandemic of 1918, or bird flu, the novel H1N1 pandemic virus has offered up its own quirks, and challenges. To call it `no worse’ than seasonal flu – as some have suggested - would be a serious mischaracterization.
Each week we learn more about how the pathogenesis and impact of this virus differs from seasonal strains.
Today, a study out of Canada shows that this pandemic virus sent more people – and younger people in particular – to the hospital than seasonal flu. And of those, a higher percentage than usual ended up in the ICU or requiring mechanical ventilation.
The 26 page study H1N1 in Canada—A Context for Understanding Patients and Their Use of Hospital Services compares Canadian baseline acute hospitalization data from 2007-2008 against recent data collected on H1N1 hospitalizations.
This analysis is released through the Canadian Institute of Health Information. Below you’ll find excerpts from a press release summarizing the study.
H1N1 patients required more intensive hospital care than typical flu patients
Pregnant women represented a greater percentage of those hospitalized than in a typical flu year
February 11, 2010—When compared to a typical flu, the H1N1 virus resulted in a higher proportion of patients requiring specialized hospital services—and affected younger people more—according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
The study, H1N1 in Canada—A Context for Understanding Patients and Their Use of Hospital Services,is the first of its kind to examine at a pan-Canadian level how hospitalizations for H1N1 differed from hospitalizations associated with a typical flu. It compares Public Health Agency of Canada FluWatch analysis from April to December 2009 with CIHI hospital statistics for the baseline year 2007–2008. The comparison group included patients with influenza and/or pneumonia, the most common complication of influenza.
“The H1N1 pandemic was met with an unprecedented response from public health officials. As the spread of the virus subsides, it is important to pause and look at how H1N1 compares to a typical flu season,” says Jean-Marie Berthelot, Vice President of Programs at CIHI. “Our study shows that proportionately more H1N1 patients needed specialized and intensive hospital services than what we’ve come to expect in a typical flu season.”
Specifically, the study found that from April 12, 2009, to January 2, 2010, the proportion of hospitalized H1N1 patients requiring intensive care was 50% higher than for those admitted to hospital with influenza or pneumonia in the baseline year—with almost one in six H1N1 hospitalized patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). In addition, an estimated 1 in 10 patients admitted to hospital with H1N1 required ventilation to assist with breathing; proportionally, this was more than double the influenza/pneumonia group.
