Predictors of complicated influenza infection in children presenting in a tertiary hospital in a tropical country: A case-control study

Abstract

Influenza causes significant healthcare burden globally1 with highest risks in children and the elderly. In children, multiple studies have identified risk factors for severe influenza such as young age (<5 years), presence of comorbidities, abnormal vital signs (e.g. hypoxia, shock) and bacterial coinfections.2-4 We found similar findings in our centre which included children during the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 pandemic with age <2 years and comorbidity as risk factors for complicated influenza.5