Antiviral Treatment Underutilized for Children, Teens With Flu

TUESDAY, Nov. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Antiviral treatment is underutilized among children and adolescents hospitalized with influenza, according to research published in the Nov. 14 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Using data from two U.S. influenza surveillance networks, Aaron M. Frutos, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues calculated the percentage of children who received treatment among children and adolescents aged younger than 18 years with medically attended, laboratory-confirmed influenza for whom antiviral treatment was recommended. Trends in antiviral treatment were also examined for children and adolescents hospitalized with influenza from the 2017-2018 to the 2023-2024 influenza seasons.

The researchers found that 70 to 86 percent of hospitalized children and adolescents with influenza received antiviral treatment in 2017 to 2018; since then, the proportion receiving treatment decreased. During the 2023 to 2024 seasons, 52 to 59 percent of those hospitalized with influenza received treatment. In one network, 31 percent of those at higher risk for influenza complications seen in the outpatient setting were prescribed antiviral treatment during the 2023-2024 season.

“The decrease in influenza antiviral use among children and adolescents with laboratory-confirmed influenza since the COVID-19 pandemic is concerning,” the authors write. “Health care providers are reminded that children and adolescents with suspected or confirmed influenza who are hospitalized or have higher risk for influenza complications should receive prompt antiviral treatment.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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