Flu Riskier for Cancer Patients
It is well known that at-risk patients are urged to get flu shots, but protection from influenza may be crucial for patients with cancer. Hospitalized patients with flu-related infections are 10 times more likely to die than the general population, say researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The very young and the very old are at the highest risk, and the impact is particularly notable among those patients who are 65 years of age and older.
More than 9% of cancer patients with flu complications died in the hospital, and 32% needed further skilled care. The average length of stay was six days. Patients with blood cancer or lung cancer tended to stay longer, need ventilation more often, and died at a higher rate than patients with other types of cancers. lexapro online
The risk of hospitalization in children with cancer, from age zero to four years, was as much as eight times higher than that for children in the general population. Children aged five to 14 years had up to six times the risk of high-risk patients in general.
