Secondary bacterial infections in patients with seasonal influenza A and pandemic H1N1.

The aim of the present study is to analyse the secondary bacterial infections in a large group of patients with seasonal influenza A and influenza A(H1N1) pdm09. Patients diagnosed with seasonal influenza A and influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 between 2005 and 2009 were enrolled in the study. Data was retrieved from medical records and laboratory information systems (LIS). In total, 1094 patients with laboratory confirmed influenza were studied. There were 352 patients with seasonal influenza A and 742 patients with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09. The patients with influenza A were older and had higher comorbidity than patients with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, resp.). Hospital admission was higher in influenza A group (P = 0.01). In contrast, ICU admission was higher in patients with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 than influenza A patients (P < 0.05). There were higher numbers of bacterial samples taken and culture positivity in patients with influenza A than patients with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.01, resp.). In both groups, the majority of the patients with positive bacterial cultures had underlying diseases. The present study shows that the patient characteristics and the frequency of secondary bacterial infections were different in patients with seasonal influenza A and in patients with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09.