Jan 8, 2013
Hospitals use tent, diversions, restrictions to cope with flood of flu patients
In some of the latest steps to deal with a flood of patients suffering flu-like symptoms, a Pennsylvania hospital has set up a tent outside its emergency department, while some Illinois hospitals are sending patients elsewhere, according to media reports. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., announced plans to set up a mobile surge tent today to receive potential flu patients, according to the Allentown Morning Call. In Illinois, 11 hospitals diverted patients to other hospitals yesterday, at least in part because of a surge of respiratory-illness patients, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Hospitals that temporarily went "on bypass" included Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medical Center. "Emergency departments are getting overrun with people with respiratory illness," Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public
Health, told the Sun-Times. Some of the hospitals that took the action disagreed that it was due to flu patients, but few offered other explanations, the story said. Meanwhile, to cope with the soaring patient load, some Minnesota hospitals are imposing visitor restrictions for the first time since the 2009 flu pandemic, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. In southern Minnesota, a number of hospitals are allowing only healthy family members of patients to visit. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester said some hospitals are reporting more flu patients than they had at the height of the 2009 pandemic. Most Twin Cities hospitals have not limited visitors, but some are posting signs at entrances to warn away visitors who may be sick.
Jan 7 Morning Call story
Jan 7 Sun-Times
story
Jan 7 Star Tribune story
Study finds substantial flu burden in kids despite vaccine recommendations
An expanded flu vaccination recommendation in US children since 2004 didn't do much to change overall vaccine coverage in that group, according to a study in Pediatrics that explored rates of the disease in inpatient and outpatient settings over five flu seasons. The study took place in three US counties encompassing Cincinnati, Nashville, and Rochester, NY. The time frame was the 2004-05 through the 2008-09 flu seasons. Researchers analyzed data from kids with fever and acute respiratory symptoms who presented to emergency departments, inpatient clinics, and outpatient clinics. Throat swabs were collected to identify lab-confirmed flu. Single-season hospitalization rates were 0.4 to 1.0 per 1,000 children younger than 5, with rates that were highest in babies younger than 6 months. In the outpatient setting, the proportion of kids with flu ranged from 10% to 25% each year. The group found that among
hospitalized kids 58% were tested for flu, 35% got a flu discharge diagnosis, and 2% received antiviral treatment. Of their outpatient counterparts, 7% were tested, 7% were diagnosed, and less than 1% received antivirals. Over the five seasons, less than 45% of kids age 6 months and older who tested negative for flu were fully vaccinated against the disease. Researchers concluded that despite broadened vaccination recommendations, a substantial flu burden in kids remains and that more efforts are needed to boost immunization in both kids and pregnant women to protect their babies.
Jan 6 Pediatrics abstract
