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. 2016 Apr;18(4):270-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2015.11.008. Epub 2015 Dec 17.

Burden and viral aetiology of influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection in intensive care units

Fabio Tramuto  1 , Carmelo Massimo Maida  2 , Giuseppe Napoli  3 , Caterina Mammina  4 , Alessandra Casuccio  5 , Cinzia Cala'  6 , Emanuele Amodio  7 , Francesco Vitale  8
Affiliations

Burden and viral aetiology of influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection in intensive care units

Fabio Tramuto et al. Microbes Infect. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to study the viral aetiology of influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) among patients requiring intensive care unit admission. A cross-sectional retrospective study was carried out in Sicily over a 4-year period. A total of 233 respiratory samples of patients with ILI/ARTI admitted to intensive care units were molecularly analyzed for the detection of a comprehensive panel of aetiologic agents of viral respiratory infections. About 45% of patients was positive for at least one pathogen. Single aetiology occurred in 75.2% of infected patients, while polymicrobial infection was found in 24.8% of positive subjects. Influenza was the most common aetiologic agent (55.7%), especially among adults. Most of patients with multiple aetiology (76.9%) were adults and elderly. Mortality rates among patients with negative or positive aetiology did not significantly differ (52.4% and 47.6%, respectively). Highly transmissible respiratory pathogens are frequently detected among patients with ILI/ARTI admitted in intensive care units, showing the occurrence of concurrent infections by different viruses. The knowledge of the circulation of several types of microorganisms is of crucial importance in terms of appropriateness of therapies, but also for the implication in prevention strategies and hospital epidemiology.

Keywords: Co-infection; Influenza-like illness; Intensive care units; Italy; Sicily; Viral infection.

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Fig. 1
Schematic diagram of study/reference population inclusion and exclusion.
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