“The Impact of Influenza on Diabetic Patients: Increased Risk of Hospitalization and ICU Admissions”

Chairman of the Indonesian Endocrinology Association (PERKENI) Prof. Dr. dr. Ketut Suastika, SpPD-KEMD said that the impact of influenza could be more severe if it infects diabetic patients, thereby increasing the risk of hospitalization up to 3-6 times.

“Diabetics are more susceptible to infection because they have impaired immune systems. This is why infections can also be more severe compared to those who are not diabetic,” Ketut said at a media meeting in Jakarta, Thursday.

In addition to increasing the risk of hospitalization, Ketut said diabetic patients who experience influenza have a 4-fold risk of being admitted to the ICU and up to 6-fold risk of death.

Ketut explained, diabetes is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular. Likewise influenza, can trigger heart attacks, strokes, and pneumonia.

“So, diabetes is a risk factor, not only (making patients) susceptible to influenza, but diabetes and influenza will exacerbate respiratory problems as well as other diseases,” said Ketut.

Furthermore, due to the heavier impact, Ketut said that the costs that must be incurred to treat diabetic patients who are infected with influenza will certainly increase.

“So it’s not only the problem of patients becoming sick or dying, but also the costs incurred by both the patient personally and the government through BPJS for example,” said Ketut.

For this reason, he also advises diabetic patients to get an influenza vaccination every year.

“I really agree that diabetic patients are a high-risk group for influenza and experience more severe complications. Therefore, influenza vaccination is recommended,” said Ketut.

According to him, the influenza vaccine in diabetic patients has been proven to reduce hospitalization and death rates. This is because the immune response produced by the influenza vaccine in diabetics is generally comparable to that of other healthy adults.

“I think we got a lot of data when handling COVID-19. So those with diabetes when vaccinated against COVID-19 still give a good immune response, as well as influenza. So there’s no need to worry,” said Ketut.

Various agencies and health associations in the world have recommended annual influenza vaccination for diabetes patients. PERKENI has included the importance of the influenza vaccine in the 2021 Guidelines for the Management and Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Indonesia.

This news has been published on Antaranews.com with the title: The impact of influenza infection can be more severe in diabetic patients

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Editor : M Fikri Setiawan

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