Severity Scale of Influenza and Acute Respiratory Illness Hospitalizations to Support Viral Genomic Surveillance: A Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network Pilot Study

Background This study aimed to establish a Severity Scale for influenza and other acute respiratory infections (ARI), requiring hospitalization, for surveillance and research purposes (the SevScale). Such a scale could aid the interpretation of data gathered from disparate settings. This could facil...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Boudewijns, B, Caini, S, Del Riccio, M, Nunes, MC, Chaves, SS, Andrew, MK, Ortiz, JR, Sandulescu, O, Bresee, JS, Burtseva, E, Coulibaly, D, Danilenko, DM, Stolyarov, K, Draganescu, AC, Tanriover, MD, Giamberardino, HIG, Koul, PA, Lopez-Labrador, FX, Mcneil, SA, Mira-Iglesias, A, Orrico-Sanchez, A, Otieno, NA, Ayugi, J, Raboni, SM, Spreeuwenberg, P
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)
Repositorio:r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
OAI Identifier:oai:fisabio.fundanetsuite.com:p18516
Acceso en línea:https://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/18516
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:influenza
acute respiratory infection
severity
Descripción
Sumario:Background This study aimed to establish a Severity Scale for influenza and other acute respiratory infections (ARI), requiring hospitalization, for surveillance and research purposes (the SevScale). Such a scale could aid the interpretation of data gathered from disparate settings. This could facilitate pooled analyses linking viral genetic sequencing data to clinical severity, bringing insights to inform influenza surveillance and the vaccine strain selection process. Methods We used a subset of data from the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network database, including data from different geographical areas and income levels. To quantify the underlying concept of severity, an item response model was developed using 16 indicators of severity related to the hospital stay. Each patient in the dataset was assigned a Severity Score and a Severity Category (low, medium, or high severity). Finally, we compared the model scores across different subgroups. Results Data from 9 countries were included, covering between 4 and 11 seasons from 2012 to 2022, with a total of 96,190 ARI hospitalizations. Not for all severity indicators data were available for all included seasons. Subgroups with a high percentage of patients in the high Severity Category included influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, age >= 50, lower-middle income countries, and admission since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions The initial model successfully highlighted severity disparities across patient subgroups. Repeating this exercise with new, more complete data would allow recalibration and validation of the current model. The SevScale proved to be a promising method to define severity for influenza vaccine strain selection, surveillance, and research.