Abstract
Introduction
Respiratory viral infections contribute to significant morbidity and mortality annually.1,2 Causes of death include lung injury, exacerbation of chronic conditions, and bacterial superinfections.1,3,4 With influenza, data from seasonal epidemics and pandemics reflect that secondary bacterial pneumonia is responsible for the majority of deaths during pandemic influenza, whereas respiratory and circulatory comorbidities in the elderly account for the majority of deaths from seasonal flu.1,3,5,6 In addition, seasons with higher prevalence of H3N2 strains have increased rates of invasive pneumococcal disease, perhaps resulting from higher viral neuraminidase activity.7–9 Nevertheless, given that secondary pneumonia is a potentially preventable complication, an improved understanding of the incidence and epidemiology of secondary infections following viral infections would have significant management implications.
Even in the modern era, secondary infections remain a significant problem, with surveys from the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic [caused by the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus], revealing incidence of bacterial coinfections ranging from 26% to 43%.10–16 In addition to
Therefore, we performed a retrospective analysis of a 3-year period at our institution to examine microbiological patterns and outcomes of secondary infections, and to test the hypothesis that influenza infections do not uniquely predispose to secondary bacterial infections. We included a period overlapping with the 2009 influenza pandemic, given the increased risk of secondary pneumonias during pandemic flu.1,3,6 We also analyzed clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients with respiratory viral infections. We specifically focused on studying patients with severe presentations that required hospitalization, reasoning that this cohort is at highest risk for poor outcomes and hence the population of greatest interest to study.
Methods
Study patients
Data from hospital admissions to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2010, were reviewed. This included two influenza seasons and part of the 2009 influenza pandemic. Initial screening was by ICD-9 codes (480-488.1, except 481-482), which included respiratory viral infections or pneumonia organisms not otherwise specified. Patients under 18 years of age or whose hospital stay extended beyond the designated period were excluded.
A total of 3316 patients’ medical records, which were selected by the ICD-9 codes listed above, were reviewed. From this group, patients were ultimately included for study if upon manual chart review they were found to have respiratory symptoms upon admission and positive results from viral studies within the first 10 days of admission. Respiratory symptoms included cough, rhinorrhea, shortness of breath, or hypoxia. As this was a retrospective review, exact criteria for admission to a hospital ward or the intensive care unit (ICU) was left to the clinical judgment of the provider, and pneumonia risk scores were not systemically used to justify patient disposition. Positive viral testing included Focus Diagnostics Influenza polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab [influenza A, influenza B, and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09]; QIAGEN ResPlex II Panel v2.0 respiratory viral panel PCR [RSV A and B, parainfluenza virus types 1–4, human metapneumoviruses A and B, rhinovirus, adenovirus serogroups B and E, rhinovirus, coronavirus (serogroups NL63, HKU1, 229E, and OC43), coxsackie and echoviruses, and bocavirus]; and respiratory cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus PCR swabs. Patients without respiratory symptoms at admission or viral testing, or with negative respiratory viral PCR results were excluded. Patients with onset of secondary pneumonia late into the admission (defined as more than 2 weeks) or who had documented bacterial or fungal pneumonia or colonization prior to the admission were also excluded (Figure 1). Respiratory infections occurring outside of this time window were excluded to avoid capturing hospital-acquired infections unrelated to the primary viral respiratory infection, which is consistent with other reports of secondary pneumonia after viral respiratory infection.13–19 A waiver of consent was obtained because this was a retrospective chart review. The study was approved by UCLA Institutional Review Board (#11-003110).

Data collection
The following data were collected: age, sex, comorbid medical conditions, type of respiratory viral infection, presence and type of secondary bacterial or fungal pneumonia, immune status (immunosuppressed or normal immune function), total hospital and ICU days, and survival at discharge. Immunosuppression was defined as those with an immunosuppressive condition (e.g. HIV) or taking immunosuppressive medications (e.g. equivalent of prednisone 20 mg or more per day, chemotherapeutic agents). Secondary pneumonia was diagnosed by positive bacterial or fungal respiratory (e.g. sputum, bronchoscopy) cultures (excluding
Data analysis
The patients were divided into two groups, viral influenza (VI) and noninfluenza (NI) viral respiratory infections based upon viral testing. Patients coinfected with VI and NI were assigned to the VI group, as the premise we were testing was whether influenza infections increased risk of secondary bacterial pneumonia compared to NI infections.
The VI and NI groups were compared across age, sex, obesity (defined as body mass index
Statistical analysis
T-tests, Chi-squared tests, and Fisher exact tests were used to compare baseline characteristics by viral infection (VI
A Chi-squared test was used to test whether NI was associated with higher rates of secondary pneumonia. To control for possible confounders, multivariate logistic regression was used to account for age, sex, and Charlson index. Variance inflation factors testing showed no evidence of multicollinearity among the variables in our model.
Finally, binary clinical outcomes (e.g. mortality) were tested using Chi-squared tests, while continuous clinical outcomes (e.g. hospital and ICU days), were tested using Wilcoxon rank-sum test or Kruskal–Wallis test by ranks as length of stay (LOS) was substantially right-skewed.
28
For all analyses, tests for significance were two-tailed with significance set at
Results
From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010, 2824 adult patients were hospitalized with a diagnosis of respiratory viral infection based on ICD-9 code. On further chart review, 1062 of these patients did not have respiratory symptoms on admission. Of the remaining 1762 patients, 723 patients had viral studies sent, of whom 557 had negative results. After excluding 32 patients who had late onset of pneumonia or pneumonia preceding hospitalization, a total of 134 cases were included in the study (Figure 1).
Among subjects with confirmed viral infections, 57 had influenza (VI) and 77 had NI viral infection. Among those with VI, 30 cases were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 21 cases were influenza A (non-A(H1N1)pdm09), and 6 cases were influenza B. The NI group included several viruses (Table 1), with RSV being the most common, followed by rhinovirus.
Distribution of viral infections among the VI and NI groups.
NI, noninfluenza; VI, viral influenza.
Clinical characteristics
Patient demographic data are presented in Table 2. The NI group was older (60.6 ± 14.0
Demographic and baseline characteristics.
The Charlson comorbidity index is a composite of several factors including age and medical comorbid disease that predict a patient’s 1-year mortality, and it has been validated elsewhere. 27
NI, noninfluenza respiratory viral infection; VI, viral influenza respiratory infection.
The groups had equal proportion of women, similar rates of underlying lung disease, and similar measures of comorbid illness as indicated by Charlson score. Of note, the majority of patients were immunosuppressed (73% overall).
Secondary pneumonia
We next examined whether influenza resulted in higher rates of secondary bacterial pneumonia compared with NI respiratory viral infections. The overall incidence of secondary pneumonia (including fungal infections) was 35% (47 of 134), with a 30% (40 of 134) incidence of secondary bacterial pneumonia. Patients with NI had increased incidence of secondary pneumonia (44%
Risk factors associated with development of secondary bacterial pneumonia.
The Charlson comorbidity index is a composite of several factors including age and medical comorbid disease that predict a patient’s 1-year mortality, and it has been validated elsewhere. 27
Specific microbiologic patterns of pneumonia also differed depending on the initial viral infection.

Clinical outcomes
Clinical outcomes were analyzed by VI and NI groups, and further divided into subgroups by those with (VIp, NIp) and without (VIo, NIo) secondary pneumonia (Table 4). The patient with NI were more likely to be admitted to the ICU (62%
Clinical outcomes of those with viral respiratory infections and secondary pneumonia.
ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; med, median; NI, noninfluenza respiratory viral infection; NIo, NI without secondary pneumonia; NIp, NI with secondary pneumonia; VI, viral influenza respiratory infection; VIo, VI without secondary pneumonia; VIp, VI with secondary pneumonia.

Discussion
Among adult patients with acute respiratory viral infections admitted to a tertiary medical center over a 3-year period, we observed a 35% overall incidence of secondary pneumonia, of which 85% were bacterial. Rates of secondary pneumonia following influenza were 23%. These rates of secondary infection are consistent with those previously reported.10–16 However, the subgroup infected with NI respiratory viruses had a higher incidence of secondary pneumonia than previously reported, 44% compared to the published 11–33%.4,22,30–32 Research in adult and pediatric populations suggests that differences in rates of secondary pneumonia depend upon the initial respiratory viral infection.21,30,33,34 In addition, more patients in the NI group were immunosuppressed, with a higher percentage of lung transplant recipients compared with the VI group. The immune status of this cohort is notable, as the mechanisms underlying the development of secondary infections following NI viral infections may differ from those underlying influenza-mediated susceptibility to secondary pneumonia.
While these findings may not be generalizable to the all patients, understanding patterns of secondary infections that affect this immunosuppressed population is increasingly important as the number of organ transplants per year and total population of living organ transplant recipients grows each year. It is reasonable to posit that hosts who develop severe NI respiratory viral infections have weakened immune responses, and thus are prone to opportunistic infections, including Gram-negative rods, fungi, and mycobacteria. Alternatively, baseline microbial colonization patterns of the upper respiratory tract are also likely to differ among patients with different immune states, which may be reflected in the epidemiology of secondary pneumonias observed in our cohort. Given that this is the population that is most at risk for complicated respiratory viral infections, longitudinal studies examining the changes in the upper respiratory microbiome will be of clinical significance, in order to understand how the dynamics of host immune responses and new viral infections interact to result in secondary pneumonias.
Although recent studies report
Outcomes among the NI population are worse than VI, marked by longer hospital stays and increased ICU days. These differences seem to be driven by patients who develop secondary pneumonia, putting a premium on early identification and appropriate antimicrobial treatment. Our data also demonstrated a trend towards increased in-hospital mortality rates among patients with secondary infections compared with primary viral infections, consistent with previous studies.22,26
Our study is limited by its retrospective nature and moderate sample size. For example, exact criteria necessitating admission to the hospital ward or ICU were not standardized and left to the discretion of the treating clinician. Further work should examine additional risk factors for secondary pneumonia after viral infection, with a focus on host immune status and longitudinal changes in bacterial colonization patterns. This is particularly important as such a large proportion of our cohort was immunosuppressed or were organ transplant recipients. Additionally, given the atypical microbial profile of secondary infection after NI viral infection, the relationship between empirical antibiotic choice and clinical outcomes in this group lends itself to future study. Earlier and broader empiric antimicrobial coverage in high-risk patients with viral respiratory infections may shorten hospital stay and improve clinical outcomes. Lastly, given that we do not have histological evidence of respiratory infection, it is possible that the positive respiratory viral, bacterial, and fungal studies could represent viral shedding or microbial colonization rather than true infection. However, we took care to ensure that all patients did have symptoms consistent with a respiratory infection on time of presentation, so we presume that these microbial isolates are pathogenic. Future confirmatory studies with lung biopsy or autopsy could help distinguish viral shedding or bacterial colonization from true invasive infection.
In summary, early identification of respiratory viral infection and secondary pneumonia remains important, since at least one in three patients presenting to the hospital with any respiratory viral infection will develop bacterial or fungal pneumonia. Our work demonstrates an even higher rate of secondary pneumonia among NI respiratory viruses, illustrating the clinical significance of these viral infections, particularly among the immunosuppressed. Further study of this group is warranted to better illuminate risk factors for development of secondary infections, which portends a poor prognosis.
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Footnotes
Author contribution(s)
Declaration of conflicting interests
Funding
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References
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