Key Points
-- Question: In adults with influenza requiring admission to hospital, is oseltamivir treatment within the first 2 days of admission, when compared with supportive care without oseltamivir, associated with a decreased risk of death in hospital?
-- Findings: In this cohort study of 11 073 patients hospitalized with influenza, oseltamivir treatment was associated with an adjusted risk reduction of 1.8% for in-hospital mortality when compared with supportive care.
-- Meaning: The findings of this study support current guidelines that recommend oseltamivir treatment for patients admitted to hospital with influenza; clinical trials should be conducted to generate better quality evidence.
Abstract
Importance
Current guidelines recommend oseltamivir treatment for all patients hospitalized with influenza, but this guidance is based on suboptimal evidence.
Objective
To evaluate outcomes associated with oseltamivir treatment when compared with supportive care for severe seasonal influenza requiring hospitalization.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This retrospective cohort study using target trial emulation included adult patients admitted to hospital with influenza from 30 hospitals in Ontario, Canada, from January 2015 to June 2023. Data were analyzed from November 2024 to March 2025.
Exposure
Oseltamivir treatment on hospital day 0 or 1 vs supportive care without oseltamivir.
Main Outcome and Measures
The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included time to being discharged alive and readmission within 30 days. Overlap weighting of propensity scores was used to balance covariates, and a competing risk model was used to compare time to being discharged alive.
Results
Of 11 073 patients (mean [SD] age, 72.6 [16.8] years; 5793 female [52.3%]), there were 7632 patients (68.9%) and 3441 patients (31.1%) in the oseltamivir and supportive care groups, respectively. In hospital, 268 patients (3.5%) and 168 patients (4.9%) in the oseltamivir and supportive care groups died, respectively, with an adjusted risk difference of −1.8% (95% CI, −2.8% to −0.9%; P < .001). The oseltamivir treatment group was more likely to be discharged alive (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.25; P < .001). After discharge, 645 patients (8.5%) and 336 patients (9.8%) were readmitted in the oseltamivir and supportive care groups, respectively, with an adjusted risk difference of −1.5% (95% CI, −2.8% to −0.2%; P = .02).
Conclusions and Relevance
In this cohort study of patients hospitalized with influenza, oseltamivir treatment was associated with a lower in-hospital mortality risk, earlier discharge, and lower readmission rate, supporting evidence for the current guideline recommendation of oseltamivir treatment for severe influenza. Clinical trials are needed to definitively answer this question.
Source: JAMA Network Open, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2835158
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