Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32842015›Full record

ArticleChinese medical journal2020

Influenza A virus exposure may cause increased symptom severity and deaths in coronavirus disease 2019.

Zhan-Wei Hu, Xi Wang, Jian-Ping Zhao, Jing Ma, Hai-Chao Li, Guang-Fa Wang, Yuan Cheng, Hong Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Chinese medical journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 41% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Zhan-Wei HuDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Xi WangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Jian-Ping ZhaoDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
Jing MaDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Hai-Chao LiDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Guang-Fa WangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Yuan ChengDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Hong ZhangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Peking University First Hospital · CNPeking University · CNTongji Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak occurred during the flu season around the world. This study aimed to analyze the impact of influenza A virus (IAV) exposure on COVID-19.

methodsSeventy COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital during January and February 2020 in Wuhan, China were included in this retrospective study. Serum tests including respiratory pathogen immunoglobulin M (IgM) and inflammation biomarkers were performed upon admission. Patients were divided into common, severe, and critical types according to disease severity. Symptoms, inflammation indices, disease severity, and fatality rate were compared between anti-IAV IgM-positive and anti-IAV IgM-negative groups. The effects of the empirical use of oseltamivir were also analyzed in both groups. For comparison between groups, t tests and the Mann-Whitney U test were used according to data distribution. The Chi-squared test was used to compare disease severity and fatality between groups.

resultsThirty-two (45.71%) of the 70 patients had positive anti-IAV IgM. Compared with the IAV-negative group, the positive group showed significantly higher proportions of female patients (59.38% vs. 34.21%, χ = 4.43, P = 0.035) and patients with fatigue (59.38% vs. 34.21%, χ = 4.43, P = 0.035). The levels of soluble interleukin 2 receptor (median 791.00 vs. 1075.50 IU/mL, Z = -2.70, P = 0.007) and tumor necrosis factor α (median 10.75 vs. 11.50 pg/mL, Z = -2.18, P = 0.029) were significantly lower in the IAV-positive group. Furthermore, this group tended to have a higher proportion of critical patients (31.25% vs. 15.79%, P = 0.066) and a higher fatality rate (21.88% vs. 7.89%, P = 0.169). Notably, in the IAV-positive group, patients who received oseltamivir had a significantly lower fatality rate (0 vs. 36.84%, P = 0.025) compared with those not receiving oseltamivir.

conclusionsThe study suggests that during the flu season, close attention should be paid to the probability of IAV exposure in COVID-19 patients. Prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to clarify whether IAV increases the fatality rate of COVID-19 and to elucidate any benefits of empirical usage of oseltamivir.

Indexed as

BetacoronavirusInfluenza A virusAdultAgedAntibodies, ViralCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19FemaleHumansImmunoglobulin MInfluenza, HumanMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsPneumonia, ViralRetrospective StudiesAntibodies, ViralImmunoglobulin M

Identifiers

PMID32842015
PMCPMC7575176
OpenAlexW3080958897

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.