Influenza

Investigators found patients on dialysis who received a high-dose influenza vaccination showed no additional effectiveness in reducing all-cause mortality or influenza outcomes compared to those who had a standard-dose vaccination.

Xofluza significantly reduced the risk for influenza infection among children aged younger than 12 years and adults living with infected individuals by 86%, according to phase 3 trial findings released by Genentech.

A comparison of N95 respirators and medical masks for the prevention of influenza demonstrated no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among health care workers in outpatient settings, according to findings from The Respiratory Protection Effectiveness Clinical Trial (ResPECT).

Oseltamivir for influenza prophylaxis is a consideration for health care workers at high risk for developing influenza, including those who decline vaccination, but it comes with some challenges, researchers reported in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Data from hundreds of cases of influenza A(H7N9) in China showed that patients aged older than 65 years, patients with secondary bacterial infections and those who initiated neuraminidase inhibitor therapy 5 days or more after symptom onset had an increased risk for death, according to a recent study.

Among patients with COPD, targeted lung denervation in addition to optimal pharmacotherapy, as compared with pharmacotherapy alone, was associated with fewer respiratory events including exacerbations, according to data from the AIRFLOW-2 study.

In Denmark, elderly ICU survivors who received an influenza vaccine had an 8% decreased risk for death and a 16% reduced risk for hospitalization for stroke in the year after discharge compared with patients who were not vaccinated, according to findings from a population-based cohort study published in Intensive Care Medicine.

Among the top stories in infectious disease last week were a study that found establishing an endocarditis team improved care at a hospital in France and findings that suggested injection drug use and risk behaviors decreased or remained stable during and following treatment for hepatitis C virus infection.

SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers in Germany said they observed a significant decrease in nosocomial influenza A and B infections resulting from a campaign that required hospital staff to wear masks for their entire shift during a recent influenza season.

ATLANTA — Negative rapid influenza antigen test results can delay the initiation of antiviral medication for patients with influenza who are critically ill, according to findings presented at ASM Microbe.