[#COVID19èpiùdannosoperlasalutealungoterminedell’influenza#]According to a report from the British Medical News Network on December 18, a new study published in the British journal “Lancet Infectious Diseases” has shown that, compared to hospitalized patients with seasonal flu, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 face higher risks of death and long-term health.
Like the new coronavirus, the influenza virus is an enveloped ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that can cause mild to severe respiratory infections. Both COVID-19 and influenza are associated with increased mortality and health risks.
Some previous studies have compared the subsequent health outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and flu patients. The results showed that within 6 months of infection, COVID-19 patients faced higher mortality and long-term health risks than seasonal influenza patients.
In the new study, scientists examined acute and long-term mortality risks, medical service utilization, and the results of 94 health tests over an 18-month period for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or seasonal influenza.
Study subjects included 81,280 COVID-19 patients hospitalized from 2020 to 2022 and 10,985 seasonal influenza patients hospitalized from 2015 to 2019. Patient data were obtained from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare database . The patients were followed for 18 months.
The study found that at each testing time point, the absolute mortality rate among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 was higher than that among patients hospitalized with seasonal influenza. Specifically, within 540 days of hospitalization, COVID-19 patients had an excess mortality rate of 8.62% compared to influenza patients.
Over the entire 540-day follow-up period, 64 of 94 health exam results from COVID-19 patients showed a significant increase in health risks, including cardiovascular, clotting and blood, fatigue, gastrointestinal tract , kidney, mental health, metabolism, musculoskeletal, neurological and pulmonary findings.
By comparison, people with the flu showed only six increased risks, including chest pain, increased heart rate, type 1 diabetes and three of four lung test results (cough, hypoxemia and shortness of breath).
Regarding health problems in all organ systems, COVID-19 infection was associated with a 78.7% excess rate of health problems compared to influenza infection during the entire period of follow up.
COVID-19 patients had a higher risk of readmission and intensive care unit (ICU) admission than influenza patients at all testing time points.
During the pre-Delta, Delta, and Omicron epidemics, COVID-19-related hospitalizations were associated with increased mortality, increased health problems in all organs except the lungs, and increased mortality compared to COVID-19-related hospitalizations. ‘influence. greater likelihood of admission to intensive care. In all three waves of infection the disease burden was greater in the post-acute phase than in the acute phase.
Regardless of whether the patient has received the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine, deaths and health risks caused by COVID-19 are always greater than those caused by the flu.
Studies have found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 face higher death and long-term health risks than those hospitalized with the flu.
As the scientists note, the long-term health outcomes of people with influenza or COVID-19 should be carefully monitored to prevent health problems and reduce the risk of death.
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