WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In fall/winter 2023/2024, the risk for death in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 was greater than the risk for death in patients hospitalized for seasonal influenza, according to a research letter published online May 15 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Yan Xie, Ph.D., from the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System, and colleagues evaluated the risk for death in a cohort of people hospitalized for COVID-19 (8,625 individuals) or seasonal influenza (2,647 individuals) in fall/winter 2023/2024. The analysis included data identified from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health records.

The researchers found that patients hospitalized for COVID-19 had a higher risk for death versus those hospitalized for seasonal influenza (adjusted death rate, 5.70 versus 4.24 percent at 30 days; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.35; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 1.66). There were no significant differences in the risk for death among people hospitalized for COVID-19 before and during the JN.1-predominant era (adjusted death rate, 5.46 versus 5.82 percent at 30 days; adjusted HR, 1.07; 95 percent CI, 0.89 to 1.28).

“The findings should be interpreted in the context of nearly twice as many hospitalizations for COVID-19 compared with seasonal influenza during 2023-2024,” the authors write.

One author disclosed receiving fees from Guidepoint.

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