Systematically comparing COVID-19 with 2009 influenza pandemic for hospitalized patients

Li, Pengfei; Wang, Yining; Peppelenbosch, Maikel P.; Ma, Zhongren; Pan, Qiuwei

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to comprehensively compare the clinical features of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with hospitalized 2009 influenza pandemic patients. METHODS: We systematically searched Medline, Embase, Web of science, Cochrane CENTRAL and Google scholar to identify studies related to COVID-19 and 2009 influenza pandemic. The pooled incidence rates of clinical features were estimated using DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model with Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation method. RESULTS: We found the incidence rates of fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, rhinorrhea, myalgia/muscle pain or vomiting were significantly higher in influenza compared to COVID-19 patients. The incidence rates of comorbidities including cardiovascular disease/ hypertension and diabetes were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients compared with influenza patients. In contrast, comorbidities such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and immunocompromised conditions were significantly more common in influenza compared to COVID-19 patients. Unexpectedly, the estimated rates of intensive care unit admission, treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, treatment with antibiotics and fatality were comparable between hospitalized COVID-19 and 2009 influenza pandemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study comprehensively estimated the differences and similarities of the clinical features and burdens of hospitalized COVID-19 and 2009 influenza pandemic patients. These knowledge will be important for better understanding the current COVID-19 pandemic.