Tamiflu could have been helpful in preventing pneumonia in patients who had been attacked by swine flu in the 2009 pandemic, states a Chinese study.
The researchers also show that the antiviral viral drug oseltamivir's treatment was associated with shorter duration of fever and viral RNA shedding (the period when a virus is contagious), although they stress that their findings should be interpreted with caution.
Swine Flu
Swine flu, a type of influenza caused by a new strain of the H1N1 Type A influenza virus has originated from the pigs. Winter always brings along the chills and the flu, make sure you''re safe this season.
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Researchers reviewed the medical records of 1,291 patients in China with laboratory confirmed mild H1N1 infection during the 2009 pandemic.
The average age of patients was 20 years. Three quarters (76 percent) were treated with oseltamivir from a median of the third day of symptoms. Of 920 patients who had a chest x-ray, a minority (12 percent) had abnormal findings consistent with pneumonia.
![Pneumonia]( "Pneumonia")
Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by a bacteria or a virus. It causes inflammation of the alveoli or the air sacs of the lungs.
Using statistical modelling of the patients' data, the researchers ruled out the effects of age, sex, influenza vaccination, and treatment with antibiotics on the main study outcomes: getting pneumonia, having prolonged high fever, and viral RNA shedding.
Oseltamivir treatment was then identified as a significant protective factor against subsequent development of pneumonia, confirmed by a chest x-ray. This protective effect was seen in all patients including those who started treatment more than two days after onset of symptoms.
Oseltamivir treatment started within two days of symptom onset also reduced the duration of fever and viral RNA shedding, they add. They also found that 2009 H1N1 might be shed longer than seasonal influenza virus.
These findings have been consistent with patients with the 2009 H1N1 benefiting from use of oseltamivir, concluded the authors.
However, they stress that their finding that oseltamivir treatment protected against subsequent radiographic pneumonia should be interpreted with caution, given the retrospective design of this work and the fact that not all patients underwent a chest x-ray.
The findings were published on bmj.com.
Source: ANI
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by a bacteria or a virus. It causes inflammation of the alveoli or the air sacs of the lungs.
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Using statistical modelling of the patients' data, the researchers ruled out the effects of age, sex, influenza vaccination, and treatment with antibiotics on the main study outcomes: getting pneumonia, having prolonged high fever, and viral RNA shedding.
Oseltamivir treatment was then identified as a significant protective factor against subsequent development of pneumonia, confirmed by a chest x-ray. This protective effect was seen in all patients including those who started treatment more than two days after onset of symptoms.
Oseltamivir treatment started within two days of symptom onset also reduced the duration of fever and viral RNA shedding, they add. They also found that 2009 H1N1 might be shed longer than seasonal influenza virus.
These findings have been consistent with patients with the 2009 H1N1 benefiting from use of oseltamivir, concluded the authors.
However, they stress that their finding that oseltamivir treatment protected against subsequent radiographic pneumonia should be interpreted with caution, given the retrospective design of this work and the fact that not all patients underwent a chest x-ray.
The findings were published on bmj.com.
Source: ANI
Fate of Pandemic H1N1 Flu Virus Considered by NIH Scientists
Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, review the fates of previous pandemic influenza viruses
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 No Need of High Tamiflu Dosage in Critically Ill H1N1patientsA high dosage of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for patients with critical illness is unlikely to be required for the treatment of pandemic (H1N1) influenza, a new study has found. | Advertisement
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