Influenza A (H1N1): outbreak management in a dialysis unit and clinical outcomes of infection in chronic hemodialysis patients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients are considered to be at high risk for infection. Here, we describe the clinical outcomes of chronic HD patients with influenza A (H1N1) infection and the strategies adopted to control an outbreak of influenza A in a dialysis unit. Methods: Among a total of 62 chronic HD patients, H1N1 infection was identified in 12 (19.4%). Of the 32 staff members, four (12.5%) were found to be infected with the H1N1 virus. Outcomes included symptoms at presentation, comorbidities, occurrence of hypoxemia, hospital admission, and clinical evaluation. Infection was confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results: The 12 patients who had H1N1 infection did not differ significantly from the other 50 non-infected patients with respect to age, sex, dialysis vintage, dialysis modality, or proportion of comorbidities. Obesity was higher in the H1N1-infected group (41.5 vs. 4%, p