Epidemiology of Influenza in Patients with Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in South of Iran (2015-2016)

Abstract

Summary Influenza is of particular importance because of the pace of epidemics, the extent and number of infected people, and the severity of the side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological and clinical aspects of this disease during the last epidemic in southern Iran. The present cross-sectional study was performed on the basis of secondary data analysis and information in medical records of patients with acute lower respiratory system infection in hospitals affiliated to Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18 using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and logistic regression at 0.05 significance level. From 1st September 2015 to 20th March 2016, 108 patients with acute lower respiratory tract infection with a mean age of 42.92 ± 19.65 years were admitted to Jahrom hospitals, of which 43 were diagnosed with definite influenza, all of which (100%) had H1N1 type A influenza. There were eight deaths in all, of which five were positive for H1N1, and of these five cases, three cases had delayed diagnosis and treatment, and four cases had underlying diseases. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant relationship between positive H1N1 cases and history of contact with definite influenza, traveling abroad, and clinical symptoms of chills (p < 0.05). The results of this study showed that 39.81% of the patients with acute lower respiratory tract infections suffered from influenza. Furthermore, the delayed treatment and the underlying diseases were the most important cause of death.