Many cases have to be hospitalized for treatment
The National Children's Hospital said that the number of children with influenza A who have to be hospitalized for treatment has increased in the past two weeks. On average, each day, 10-20 children infected with influenza A have to be hospitalized for inpatient treatment. As of noon on November 8, the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital is treating nearly 80 children with influenza A as inpatients.
Dr. Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, National Children's Hospital, said that only in cases with a risk of severe risk, pneumonia, complicated respiratory failure: Pneumonia, encephalitis, heart attack, doctors prescribe hospitalization for inpatient treatment. Thus, in reality, the number of children with influenza A coming for examination is much higher.
Hanoi Children's Hospital recorded 280 pediatric patients coming for examination in the first week of November (equal to more than 50% of the total number of flu cases examined in October 2025); of which, 65 cases were hospitalized. As of the afternoon of November 8, the hospital still had 33 children to be treated as inpatients.
The Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases is also treating nearly 50 patients with influenza A. A 16-month-old patient in Hanoi, diagnosed with influenza A, with proliferative bronchitis-lyumonia, was fortunately detected and treated promptly.
The patient's parents said that 3 days before being admitted to the hospital, the child had a high fever, runny nose, and a lot of coughing, then appeared phlegm and cough with thick phlegm. When I went to the doctor, the influenza A test result was positive and I had to be hospitalized for treatment.
According to the doctor, when clinical examination of the child patient, the lungs showed signs of acquired infection, side seizures; the chest X-ray at the time of admission had damage to both bronchial-lyph regurgitation, with clear bacterial infection.
Blood tests show severe infections: White blood cells increased by 13.8 G/L, CRP 51 mg/L - 10 times higher than normal. If not detected and treated early, the disease can progress rapidly to acute respiratory failure or sepsis. After two days of inpatient treatment, the child responded well, reduced fever, improved breathing, and returned to feeding, but still needed close monitoring.
Similarly, patient H.L (10 years old) was admitted to the hospital with a high fever of 39.5°C, a lot of coughing, fatigue all over the body, and unable to eat or drink. In addition, children show signs of general bone and joint pain, body sluggishness, and severe headaches - typical manifestations of influenza A infection.
The doctor determined that the child had influenza A but there were no complications. The patient was admitted to the hospital for treatment according to the regimen, and was supported with pain relief, anti- vomiting, electrolyte replenishment and close monitoring.
Need to take children to the doctor promptly to avoid complications
Master, resident doctor Nguyen Dinh Dung (Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases), most children with influenza A have continuous high fever, runny nose, cough that increases with fatigue and crying. Adults and children often see more clearly signs of fatigue and joint pain.
In addition, children with high fever can have cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. If the disease progresses severely, children may be sluggish, less reactive, short of breath or withdraw chest congestion - all of which are warning signs of complications.
Therefore, parents need to closely monitor the health of their children. When children show signs of illness or fever, take them to the nearest medical facility for examination, early diagnosis and proper treatment. Do not arbitrarily use medicine at home. Taking children to the doctor in time will help treat them according to the treatment regimen, limiting serious complications.
According to doctors, there are currently two basic types of influenza in Vietnam: influenza A and influenza B, of which influenza A accounts for a high proportion. Influenza A is an acute infectious disease transmitted through the respiratory tract, can occur at any age, but young children, the elderly or people with underlying diseases are at higher risk because the immune system is weak and prone to serious complications.
In the early stages, influenza A often shows similar symptoms to other respiratory viral infections, but the disease can progress very quickly, causing serious complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure or sepsis if not detected and treated promptly.
Dr. Do Thien Hai noted: influenza treatment is mainly symptomatic treatment, when fever is high, you must use antipyretics and need to clean the respiratory tract to avoid viral infections that cause pneumonia. Notably, treatment with Tamiflu is not mandatory and is not recommended for all cases of flu. The drug is only used in cases at risk of complications.
Doctors also recommend that when there is a person with influenza A in the home, people living together need to be relatively isolated such as: Wearing a mask, limiting contact to avoid spreading, especially the elderly and people with underlying diseases, when having the flu, the risk of disease will increase.
