Clinical characteristics of 75 pandemic H1N1 influenza patientsfrom Turkey; risk factors for fatality

Authors: HATİCE KILIÇ, ASİYE KANBAY, AYŞEGÜL KARALEZLİ, HATİCE CANAN HASANOĞLU, CAN ATEŞ

Abstract: Background/aim: The 2009 influenza A (H₁N₁) pandemic caused mild to severe illnesses and led to death in some cases. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between the serum D-dimer levels, CURB-65 scores, and the severity of pneumonia among patients with H₁N₁ infections. Materials and methods: Sixty-eight patients who had probable H₁N₁ infections were evaluated by clinical, radiological, and laboratory methods. The H₁N₁ strain was specified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Of 55 patients diagnosed with pneumonia, 18 exhibited H₁N₁ positivity and 37 patients did not. Results: CURB-65 scores of pneumonia patients with H₁N₁ (group 1) were higher than those of patients without H₁N₁ (group 2) (P = 0.02). The D-dimer levels of group 1 were higher than those of group 2 (P = 0.001). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between D-dimer levels and CURB-65 scores in patients with H₁N₁-associated pneumonia (P = 0.001; r = 0.89). Conclusion: Increased D-dimer levels were observed in pneumonia patients with H₁N₁ infection, which predicted the severity of pneumonia.

Keywords: H1N1, pneumonia severity index, pneumonia, D-dimer

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