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Epidemiological factors related to hospitalization due to influenza in children below 6 months of age

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to address the epidemiological factors associated to hospital admissions due to influenza in infants younger than 6 months. A case-control study was performed in a tertiary hospital in Spain. Cases were infants under 6 months of age without comorbidities who were admitted due to influenza between October 2010 and March 2015. Controls were healthy infants younger than 6 months who were hospitalized due to non-respiratory illness or non-infectious diseases (urinary tract infection was included as controls). Data were retrospectively collected from medical records and phone interviews. A total of 88 cases and 122 controls we included. From univariate analysis, differences were found in relation to maternal age (43.1 ± 4.95 vs 32 ± 5.3), paternal age (37 ± 6.4 vs 34.5 ± 6.1), having siblings (79 vs 24%), siblings below 4 years old (54 vs 15%), and having vaccinated grandparents (18 vs 39%) (p < 0.05). After logistic regression, having vaccinated grandparents was an independent protective factor (OR 0.22 [CI95%; 0.05–0.91]), while having siblings was a risk factor (OR 15.8 [CI95% 3.15–79.5]). Vaccination during pregnancy was highly uncommon (3.5 vs 8.3%; p = 0.3).

Conclusion: This study underlines the importance of increasing influenza immunization among household contacts of infants below 6 months to prevent their influenza admission.

What is Known:

• Infants younger than 6 months old are considered a high-risk population.

• Vaccination against influenza is not licensed in infants below 6 months.

What is New:

• Increasing vaccination coverage in elderly people could reduce infants’ hospitalization rates.

• Cocoon immunization strategy may reduce the admission of infants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. General Paediatrics and Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department, Hospital La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046, Madrid, Spain

    J. Bustamante, I. Calzado, T. Sainz, C. Calvo, T. Del Rosal & A. Méndez-Echevarría

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  1. J. Bustamante
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  2. I. Calzado
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  3. T. Sainz
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  4. C. Calvo
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  5. T. Del Rosal
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  6. A. Méndez-Echevarría
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All authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, or revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Bustamante.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. All the authors approved the submitted manuscript.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by Nicole Ritz

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Bustamante, J., Calzado, I., Sainz, T. et al. Epidemiological factors related to hospitalization due to influenza in children below 6 months of age. Eur J Pediatr 176, 1425–1428 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-3001-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-017-3001-1

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