tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Med Virol
. 2020 Jul 31.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26376. Online ahead of print.
Missed opportunities to use rapid influenza testing and severity assessment to avoid hospital admission: A cohort study from an East London District General Hospital
Catherine Dominic[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Catherine Welch[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mark Melzer[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Annual outbreaks of seasonal influenza cause a substantial health burden. The aim of this study was to compare patient demographic/clinical data in two influenza patient groups presenting to hospital; those requiring O[SUB]2[/SUB] or critical care admission and those requiring less intensive treatment. The study was conducted from 1 December 2017 until 1 April 2019 at a district general hospital in East London. Patient demographic and clinical information was collected for all patients who had tested influenza positive by near-patient testing. χ[SUP]2[/SUP] test was used for categorical variables to see if there were significant differences for those admitted and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test to compare the length of inpatient stay. Of 127 patients, 56 (44.1%) required oxygen or critical care. There were significant increases in National Early Warning Score (NEWS) observations (P < .001), Charlson comorbidity index (P = .049), length of inpatient stay (P < .001), and a strong association with increasing age (P = .066) when the more intensive treatment group was compared with the less intensive treatment group. A total of 13 (18.3%) of 71 patients not requiring oxygen or critical care were not admitted to the hospital. Following rapid influenza testing, NEWS scores, comorbidities, and age should be incorporated into a decision tool in Accident and Emergency to aid hospital admission or discharge decisions.
Keywords: admission avoidance; decision tool; influenza; near‐patient testing; severity assessment.
. 2020 Jul 31.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26376. Online ahead of print.
Missed opportunities to use rapid influenza testing and severity assessment to avoid hospital admission: A cohort study from an East London District General Hospital
Catherine Dominic[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Catherine Welch[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mark Melzer[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32869890
- DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26376
Abstract
Annual outbreaks of seasonal influenza cause a substantial health burden. The aim of this study was to compare patient demographic/clinical data in two influenza patient groups presenting to hospital; those requiring O[SUB]2[/SUB] or critical care admission and those requiring less intensive treatment. The study was conducted from 1 December 2017 until 1 April 2019 at a district general hospital in East London. Patient demographic and clinical information was collected for all patients who had tested influenza positive by near-patient testing. χ[SUP]2[/SUP] test was used for categorical variables to see if there were significant differences for those admitted and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test to compare the length of inpatient stay. Of 127 patients, 56 (44.1%) required oxygen or critical care. There were significant increases in National Early Warning Score (NEWS) observations (P < .001), Charlson comorbidity index (P = .049), length of inpatient stay (P < .001), and a strong association with increasing age (P = .066) when the more intensive treatment group was compared with the less intensive treatment group. A total of 13 (18.3%) of 71 patients not requiring oxygen or critical care were not admitted to the hospital. Following rapid influenza testing, NEWS scores, comorbidities, and age should be incorporated into a decision tool in Accident and Emergency to aid hospital admission or discharge decisions.
Keywords: admission avoidance; decision tool; influenza; near‐patient testing; severity assessment.