The aim of this retrospective cohort study at eight hospitals in Germany was to specify influenza-associated in-hospital mortality during the 2017/2018 flu season, which was the strongest in Germany in the past 30 years. A total of 1560 patients were included in the study. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 6.7% (n = 103), in patients treated in the intensive care unit (n = 161) mortality was 22.4%. The proportion of deceased patients per hospital was between 0% and 7.0%. Influenza was the immediate cause of death in 82.8% (n = 82) of the decedents.
Keywords: In-hospital mortality; Influenza; Intensive care; Season 2017/2018.