Clinical characteristics of critically ill patients co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza virus in Wuhan, China

Abstract

To delineate the clinical characteristics of critically ill COVID-19 patients co-infected with influenza. Methods: This study included adult patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 form Tongji Hospital (Wuhan, China), with or without influenza, and compared their clinical characteristics. Results: Among 93 patients, 44 died and 49 were discharged. Forty-four (47.3%) were infected with influenza virus A and two (2.2%) with influenza virus B. Twenty-two (50.0%) of the non-survivors and 24 (49.0%) of the survivors were infected with the influenza virus. Critically ill COVID-19 patients with influenza were more prone to cardiac injury than those without influenza. For the laboratory indicators at admission the following were higher in non-survivors with influenza than in those without influenza: white blood cell counts, neutrophil counts, levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, D-dimer value, and proportion of elevated creatinine. Conclusion:The results showed that a high proportion of COVID-19 patients were co-infected with influenza in Tongji Hospital, with no significant difference in the proportion of co-infection between survivors and non-survivors. The critically ill COVID-19 patients with influenza exhibited more severe inflammation and organ injury, indicating that co-infection with the influenza virus may induce an earlier and more frequently occurring cytokine storm.

<p>Coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Pathogens</p>

“…In our study, coinfections were not associated with adverse mortality rates when compared to simple SARS-CoV-2 infections alone, which is consistent with previous studies. 3,19 However, the detection rate of other pathogens was 15.6% in our study, while other studies 20,21,23 had a higher detection rate, suggesting that coinfection may be a common feature during the COVID-19 pandemic. When managing COVID-19 patients, being aware of the presence of another respiratory pathogen causing coinfection plays an important role in assisting health-care workers in their use of targeted medications and therapies, aimed at treating these potential pathogens.…”

Influenza immunization and COVID-19

“…Influenza and COVID-19 can present with similar symptoms, and co-infections with a more severe course, complications or a fatal outcome have been recorded [11] , [12] . Beyond that, COVID-19 and seasonal influenza share the same high-risk groups and both can prove detrimental for older persons and persons with chronic co-morbidities, including obese persons and residents of long-term care facilities [13] , [14] .…”

Assessment of Risk Factors of Hypertension among Pakistani People Living in Populated Cities of the Country

“…The findings in the journal written by Simin Ma and the four co-authors showed that among the 95 Covid-19 patients, 44 were infected with influenza virus A, two with influenza virus B, one with adenovirus, and one with parainfluenza; 47 were uninfected. It added that patients with Covid-19 who had influenza, a co-infection, did not demonstrate different symptoms, as to someone with only Covid-19 (Ma et al, 2020).…”

“…The sample size gathered by Allen Yu-Hung Lai was 20 informants from 12 organizations in Taiwan's communicable disease network and another 10 from eight different organizations in Singapore, which totals to 30 respondents (Lai, 2018). Followed by Simin Ma and the four co-authors', with a sample size of 95 adult patients at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China (Ma et al, 2020). Next, the research conducted by Leonidas Palaiodimos and seven other authors included 200 patients that were admitted to a tertiary medical center in The Bronx, New York (Palaiodimos et al, 2020).…”