Background
Baloxavir marboxil (baloxavir) is a new anti-influenza virus agent that is comparable to oseltamivir phosphate (oseltamivir). Since the efficacy of baloxavir in preventing household transmission of influenza is not well established, we compared the secondary household influenza virus transmission rates between patients on baloxavir vs oseltamivir.
Methods
Between October 2018 and March 2019, we enrolled index patients (diagnosed with influenza and treated with baloxavir or oseltamivir) and household members. The secondary attack rate of household members was compared between index patients treated with baloxavir vs oseltamivir. Risk factors of household transmission were determined using multivariate logistic analyses.
Results
In total, 169 index patients with influenza type A were enrolled. The median age was 27.0 (interquartile range; 11–57) years. The number of index patients treated with baloxavir and oseltamivir was 49 and 120, respectively. The secondary attack rate was 9.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6–15.6) in the baloxavir group and 13.5% (95% CI: 9.8–17.9) in the oseltamivir group. In the multivariate analysis, independent risk factors were 0–6 years of age (odds ratio [OR] 2.78, 95% CI: 1.33–5.82, p < 0.01) and not being on baloxavir treatment. (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.30–1.32, p = 0.22).
Conclusion
The household secondary attack rate of influenza was comparable in patients treated with baloxavir vs oseltamivir. Therefore, baloxavir can be used as an alternative therapy to oseltamivir in reducing household transmission of influenza.
Trial registration
Patients in this study were retrospectively registered. https://www.tosei.or.jp/clinical/pdf/2_influenza.pdf.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.