Neurologic Complications and Outcomes of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Korean Children.
10.3346/jkms.2012.27.4.402
- Author:
Soonhak KWON
1
;
Saeyoon KIM
;
Min hyun CHO
;
Hyeeun SEO
Author Information
1. Department of Pediatrics, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea. she0922@hanmail.net
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Influenza A H1N1;
Neurologic Complication;
Prognosis;
Child
- MeSH:
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use;
Child;
Child, Preschool;
Electroencephalography;
Female;
Humans;
Infant;
Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/*genetics;
Influenza, Human/*complications/drug therapy/*epidemiology;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging;
Male;
Oseltamivir/therapeutic use;
Pandemics;
Republic of Korea/epidemiology;
Retrospective Studies;
Seizures/*etiology
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
2012;27(4):402-407
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Neurologic complications of children with influenza A H1N1 2009 pandemic, diagnosed in two consecutive influenza seasons were retrospectively reviewed to seek better outcomes in future outbreaks. Patient demographics, clinical manifestations and neurologic outcomes were reviewed. A total of 1,389 children were diagnosed with influenza A H1N1 by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Of these, 23 (1.7%) patients had neurologic involvement. Their mean age was 5.9 +/- 3.6 yr (range, 6 months to 11 yr) and 16 (69.9%) were boys. None of the 23 patients had been vaccinated for influenza A H1N1 and seasonal influenzas. Twenty-two of the 23 patients presented with seizures. Clinical features included febrile convulsion (n = 19), afebrile convulsion (n = 1), aseptic meningitis (n = 1), encephalopathy (n = 1), and acute necrotizing encephalopathy (n = 1). They all were treated with Oseltamivir twice daily for 5 days immediately after nasal and throat swab testing. Twenty-one of the subjects recovered fully, but the youngest two infants experienced severe neurological sequelae. The results indicate that neurologic complications associated with influenza A H1N1 2009 pandemic were mostly mild, but rarely were serious. Prompt intervention leads to a better outcome and vaccination may prevent the disease, thus staving off serious neurological complications following influenza, especially in young infants.
