A clinico-epidemiological profile, coinfections and outcome of patients with Influenza Like Illnesses (ILI) presenting to the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients presented to the emergency department (ED) with features of Influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and with other atypical presentations. This study was done to determine the etiology, co-infections, and clinical profile of patients with ILI.
Methods: This prospective observational study included all patients presenting to the ED with fever and/or cough, breathing difficulty, sore throat, myalgia, gastrointestinal complaints (abdominal pain/vomiting/diarrhea), loss of taste and altered sensorium or asymptomatic patients who resided in or travelled from containment zones, or those who had contact with COVID-19 positive patients during the first wave of the pandemic between April and August 2020. Respiratory virus screening was done on a subset of COVID-19 patients to determine co-infection.
Results: During the study period, we recruited 1462 patients with ILI and 857 patients with the non-ILI presentation of confirmed COVID-19 infection. The mean age group of our patient population was 51.4 (SD: 14.9) years with a male predominance (n-1593; 68.7%). The average duration of symptoms was 4.1 (SD: 2.9) days. A sub-analysis to determine an alternate viral etiology was done in 293 (16.4%) ILI patients, where 54 (19.4%) patients had COVID 19 and co-infection with other viruses, of which Adenovirus (n-39; 14.0%) was the most common. The most common symptoms in the ILI-COVID-19 positive group (other than fever and/or cough and/or breathing difficulty) were loss of taste (n-385; 26.3%) and diarrhea (n- 123; 8.4%). Respiratory rate (27.5 (SD: 8.1)/minute: p-value < 0.001) and oxygen saturation (92.1% (SD: 11.2) on room air; p-value < 0.001) in the ILI group were statistically significant. Age more than 60 years (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 4.826 (3.348-6.956); p-value: <0.001), sequential organ function assessment score more than or equal to four (adjusted OR: 5.619 (3.526-8.957); p-value: <0.001), and WHO critical severity score (Adjusted OR: 13.812 (9.656-19.756); p-value: <0.001) were independent predictors of mortality.
Conclusion: COVID-19 patients were more likely to present with ILI than atypical features. Co-infection with Adenovirus was most common. Age more than 60 years, SOFA score more than or equal to four and WHO critical severity score were independent predictors of mortality.
Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.
(Copyright: © 2023 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.)