Obesity the new risk factor for swine flu

Such people run the risk of having severe complications from the influenza, which may even lead to death, suggests the study.

The researchers based their study on the 10 swine flu patients admitted at a Michigan hospital. These patients were so ill that they were admitted to the intensive care unit of the University of Michigan Medical Center and had to be put on ventilators. Out of these 10 patients, three died.

Patients had severe complications
Of the 10 patients, nine were obese, defined as having body mass index (BMI) of more than 30, including seven who were extremely obese with BMI of more than 40. Among the three who died, two patients were severely obese.

“Clinicians should be aware that severe illness and fatal outcomes also can occur in patients without known risk factors for complications of seasonal influenza, including persons with extreme obesity,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) virus expert Dr. Tim Uyeki.

Five of these patients reportedly had evidence of blood clots in the lungs, which hitherto were not known to be in patients with severe influenza virus infections. Nine of these patients had multiple organ failure, while six had kidney failure. None of the patients has recovered fully as yet.

Higher dose of Tamiflu effective
Uyeki and his team observed that patients survived better if they got oseltamivir for a longer period than the usual five-day treatment course. Thus they suggested that doctors can, without any apprehension, enhance the usual dose of oseltamivir, Roche AG's antiviral drug sold under the Tamiflu brand name.

"We don't know if it is necessary for a higher dose of the drug to be given to patients who are obese," he cautioned.

The findings have been published in a CDC publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.