A new study finds that antiviral drugs effective in treating the flu in children are not being used as much as they once were.
Antiviral use has decreased since the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, and reported in the New York Times.
The study found that prompt use of such drugs as Tamiflu and Relenza can save the lives of children in intensive care units. But the study found that while 90% of critically ill children got the drugs during the pandemic, only 63% received them in a two year period after the pandemic.
“Antivirals…decrease mortality, and the sooner you give them the more effectively they do that,” said one doctor, who was not involved in the study.
According to study author Dr. Janice K. Louie, “one of the goals of the study was to increase awareness and remind clinicians that antiviral use is important in this population.”
