Surveillance of Influenza AND ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS
Acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illness are among the most common reasons for emergency room visits and hospital stays. The information provided about the cause of the illness and whether it could have been prevented by vaccines is usually minimal. This often causes confusion, especially when the influenza-like illness appears shortly after a seasonal influenza immunization.
In 2009, during the influenza pandemic we started a prospective surveillance program for patients with acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illness in collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, which resulted in a 6000 patient cohort study (ages 0-18). We captured up to 1600 data points per patient observation in order to learn which pieces of information are most important to accurately describe and improve a patient outcome.
The quality improvement program also assessed how the patient’s immunization history was obtained and documented in the acute care setting. Participants were empowered to actively engage in the screening and evaluation process, thus leaving the emergency room with concrete and immediate feedback on the type of infection, how to manage it and how to best prevent it from reoccurring in the future.
In 2009, during the influenza pandemic we started a prospective surveillance program for patients with acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illness in collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, which resulted in a 6000 patient cohort study (ages 0-18). We captured up to 1600 data points per patient observation in order to learn which pieces of information are most important to accurately describe and improve a patient outcome.
The quality improvement program also assessed how the patient’s immunization history was obtained and documented in the acute care setting. Participants were empowered to actively engage in the screening and evaluation process, thus leaving the emergency room with concrete and immediate feedback on the type of infection, how to manage it and how to best prevent it from reoccurring in the future.