Abstract
Objectives: We describe and analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes for all persons suffering asthma who were hospitalized with laboratory confirmed pH1N1 infection in Spain in 2009.
Methods: This is an observational retrospective study using hospitalization data collected by the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database. We selected all admissions with diagnosis ICD-9-CM code 488.1 (pH1N1). Discharges were grouped, according to the presence or not of asthma.
Results: The total number of persons hospitalized with pH1N1 was 11,499. Of those, 8.98% suffered asthma. The most common underlying medical condition among asthmatic subjects was obesity (10.97%). The IHM was much lower among asthmatic patients than among those without this disease (0.85% vs. 2.76%, p<0.05). Also, the mean LOS and the mean costs per patient were lower for asthmatic patients (5.38 days and 2,566 €), when compared to hospitalized patients without asthma (7.08 days and 3,186 €). After multivariate analysis, suffering asthma was a factor independently associated with a higher probability of surviving during the hospitalization with pH1N1, (OR=0.42; 95% CI 0.11-0.71). For asthma sufferers, those that died during the hospitalization with influenza pH1N1 were significantly older, suffered more concomitant chronic diseases and had a longer LOS and higher costs.
Conclusions: Among individuals hospitalized in 2009 with pH1N1 infection in Spain the prevalence of asthma was 8.98%. The most common underlying medical condition among asthma subjects was obesity. Suffering asthma was independently associated with lower risk of dying during the hospitalization with pH1N1.
- © 2012 ERS