Risk factors of influenza A and B virus infection in children population from South-Eastern area of Romania

The objective of this study was to identify clinical and paraclinical characteristics along with risk factors in patients with influenza A and B virus infection. Material and methods: This retrospective study included children diagnosed with influenza, admitted to the pediatric department of Constanta Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital, from Romania, during the 2015-2019 influenza cold seasons. Data regarding clinical characteristics, laboratory tests (fibrinogen, white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), platelets (PLT), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), creatine-kinase (CK), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and C-reactive protein (CRP), and management were collected. Results: Over the study period, 265 patients with influenza A and 83 patients with influenza B were investigated. The mean age of patients with influenza A was higher than of patients with influenza B (6.48 vs 5.9 years). It has been showed that cough was statistically different in both types (p=0.0094). The same statistically significant values were seen for rhinorrhea (p=0.0035), vomiting/nausea (p=0.0362), dyspnea (p=0.0449), myalgias (p=0.0412) and pneumonia (p=0.0077). At admission, the laboratory tests showed higher values of fibrinogen in A influenza and higher values of WBCs in B influenza. Hemoglobin, PLT, CK, and AST shows a significant difference for B influenza (p<0.001). In contrast, CRP shows significant differences of values for A influenza (p=0.001). Moreover, the early antiviral treatment was almost similar for both influenzas early from the onset (p=0.0418). Conclusions: Although we have found the predominance of clinical characteristics and non-specific inflammation markers as risk factors in patients with influenza A virus, the predisposing to influenza B should be paid also attention. This information’s should be used in order to optimize its utilization for early effective and preventive management strategies in pediatric population.