Early antiviral treatment for children hospitalised with influenza reduces intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and shortens hospital stays, according to a US study.
The study, published on August 10, found that children who were treated with oseltamivir were 31% less likely to be admitted to the ICU than children who were not treated with the drug.
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Researchers also found that children who did receive the drug, also known as Tamiflu, spent an average of 9.4 fewer hours in hospital than those who did not.
In the UK, oseltamivir is a first-line treatment for children with severe influenza, characterised by complications such as “pneumonia, sepsis, multi-organ-failure, encephalopathy or exacerbation of chronic disease, which warrant management in a hospital or critical care setting”.
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The study revealed that “treatment effects remained significant regardless of time to treatment initiation from symptom onset”, however researchers “observed the reduction in length of stay most prominently with early treatment”.
The research was based on data from 13 states across eight influenza seasons, with 6,044 cases used in the primary analysis of ICU admissions, and 7,103 cases used in the secondary study analysing the length of patient hospital stays.
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The findings were published on the same day that president Donald Trump signed an executive order recommending fewer vaccinations for children in the US.
Under the order, the flu vaccine, alongside vaccines for Covid, rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and bacterial meningitis, would no longer be universally recommended.
