Peramivir is as effective as oral oseltamivir in the treatment of severe seasonal influenza.

The clinical efficacy of peramivir in the treatment of severe seasonal influenza in critically ill patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) is not well established. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of peramivir with that of oseltamivir in such critically ill patients. From September 2010 through March 2014, sixty patients with influenza confirmed by RT-PCR and hospitalized in our ICU were enrolled and reviewed retrospectively. Thirty-four and twenty-six patients received initial peramivir and oseltamivir, respectively. The median sequential organ failure assessment score was higher in the patients treated with peramivir (11 vs. 8.5, P= 0.029). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the median duration of use of antiviral agents. There were also no significant differences between the groups in 14-day (17.6% in peramivir vs. 7.7% in oseltamivir, P = 0.446), or 28-day mortality (35.3% in peramivir vs. 34.6% in oseltamivir, P = 0.813) or in the median length of ICU stay (11 days in peramivir vs. 12 days in oseltamivir, P=0.852). Peramivir has the similar clinical efficacy to oseltamivir in the treatment of severe seasonal influenza in the critically ill patients admitted to ICU.