Via C-Health, another good Branswell report: Even late antiviral treatment useful for hospitalized flu patients. Excerpt:
A study of patients hospitalized with influenza suggests treatment with an antiviral drug, even if started later than is considered optimal, can substantially increase a person's chance of survival.
A group of Toronto researchers found the rate of deaths among flu patients in hospital was halved in those who received the drug oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu. The findings were presented Friday at an infectious diseases conference in San Francisco.
Between seven and eight per cent of patients hospitalized for flu who didn't receive the drug died during the period of study, said lead author Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious diseases expert at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. Among treated patients, four per cent died, she said.
