MedPageToday Although antivirals had some positive effects on the treatment of severe influenza and prevention of the flu, many effects on outcomes were uncertain, according to two World Health Organization-funded systematic reviews and network meta-analyses.
In the first analysis, treatment of severe influenza with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and peramivir (Rapivab) appeared to reduce the length of hospital stays, but overall the effects of antivirals on key clinical outcomes — such as mortality — remained questionable, reported Qiukui Hao, MD, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and colleagues in The Lancet