Comparison of severe and critical COVID-19 patients imported from Russia with and without influenza A infection in Heilongjiang Province: a retrospective study

Qingqing Dai; Ming Ye; Zhiqiang Tang; Kaijiang Yu; Yang Gao; Zhenyu Yang; Junbo Zheng; Shu Zuo; Yan Liu; Fengjie Xie; Qiuyuan Han; Hua He; Hongliang Wang

doi:10.21037/atm-21-3912

Comparison of severe and critical COVID-19 patients imported from Russia with and without influenza A infection in Heilongjiang Province: a retrospective study

Ann Transl Med. 2021 Sep;9(18):1446. doi: 10.21037/atm-21-3912.

Authors

Qingqing Dai¹, Ming Ye¹, Zhiqiang Tang¹, Kaijiang Yu², Yang Gao², Zhenyu Yang¹, Junbo Zheng¹, Shu Zuo¹, Yan Liu³, Fengjie Xie⁴, Qiuyuan Han¹, Hua He⁵, Hongliang Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Critical Care Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
² Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
³ Department of Medical Statistics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
⁴ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hongqi Hospital of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, China.
⁵ Department of Infectious Disease, Hongqi Hospital of Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, China.

Abstract

Background: The rapid spread of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) poses a global health emergency, and cases entering China from Russia are quite diverse. This study explored and compared the clinical characteristics and outcomes of severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients from Russia with and without influenza A infection, treated in a northern Chinese hospital (Russia imported patients).

Methods: A total of 32 severe and critically ill Russia-imported COVID-19 patients treated in the Heilongjiang Imported Severe and Critical COVID-19 Treatment Center from April 6 to May 11, 2020 were included, including 8 cases (group A) with and 24 cases (group B) without influenza A infection. The clinical characteristics of each group were compared, including prolonged hospital stay, duration of oxygen therapy, time from onset to a negative SARS-CoV-2 qRT-PCR RNA (T_neg) result, and duration of bacterial infection.

Results: The results showed that blood group, PaO₂/FiO₂, prothrombin time (PT), prothrombin activity (PTA), computed tomography (CT) score, hospital stay, duration of oxygenation therapy, T_neg, and duration of bacterial infection were statistically different between the two groups (P<0.05). Multivariant regression analysis showed that the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, C-reactive protein (CRP), and influenza A infection were factors influencing hospital stay; SOFA score, CRP, and CT score were factors influencing the duration of oxygenation therapy; PaO₂/FiO₂, platelet count (PLT), and CRP were factors influencing T_neg; and gender, SOFA score, and influenza A infection were factors influencing the duration of bacterial infection.

Conclusions: Influenza A infection is common in Russia-imported COVID-19 patients, which can prolong the hospital stay and duration of bacterial infection. Routinely screening and treating influenza A should be conducted early in such patients.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease-19 influenza A (COVID-19 influenza A); clinical characteristics; clinical outcome; imported patients.