Hospital Course and Comorbidity Profile of Swine Flu (H1N1) Deaths in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Southern Rajasthan

Abstract

Introduction: Influenza is an acute respiratory tract infection caused by influenza virus. There has been resurgence since
2009 pandemic in India. Rajasthan, being one of the worst hit states and the fact that clinico-epidemiological profile of
swine flu positive deaths varies from place to place and from time to time, it becomes important to conduct audit of cases
in each resurgence phase. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective descriptive study done in MB Government Hospital,
Udaipur on 61 swine flu positive deaths for a year (September 2018 to August 2019). All relevant details were noted in the
preformed performa, analyzed and results were attributed a statistical significance of p < 0.05. Results: Out of 61 deaths,
27.9% deaths were in the 41-50 age group. About 63.9% were males and 50.8% belonged to rural areas. Only 21.3% patients
seeked hospital care within 72 hours of onset of symptom. Fifty-three had comorbidities. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (30.1%)
was the most common comorbidity. Conclusion: Our study showed that most patients had multiple comorbidities. Those
with comorbidities and delayed hospitalization from the onset of symptoms (>3 days delay) showed less survival time in
the hospital. People with a comorbid condition should be vaccinated with influenza vaccine prior to outbreak of the disease.