Oseltamivir as good as peramivir in influenza B but yields better outcomes in influenza A

Oseltamivir appears to have similar efficacy as peramivir in the treatment of young children with severe influenza B, a study has found. However, oseltamivir treatment leads to better recovery and shorter hospitalization in children with severe influenza A.

The study included a total of 1,662 children with influenza A (n=1,095) or B (n=567) virus treated with either oseltamivir or peramivir. Researchers applied propensity score to match oseltamivir-treated to peramivir-treated children.

At baseline, children with influenza A and those with influenza B had similar characteristics, such as influenza-associated symptoms and comorbidities.

Among influenza A-infected children who had bacterial coinfection, oseltamivir was associated with a significantly greater recovery rate compared with peramivir (15.6 percent vs 4.4 percent; p=0.01). The median duration of hospitalization was also shorter among oseltamivir-treated children.

Results for influenza A-infected children without bacterial coinfection followed a similar pattern, with the recovery rate being significantly greater with oseltamivir than with peramivir (21.1 percent vs 3.7 percent; p=0.002).

However, among influenza B-infected children, there were no significant differences between oseltamivir and peramivir in terms of recovery rates and duration of hospitalization (p>0.05 for both).

Oseltamivir and peramivir are two FDA-approved neuraminidase inhibitors that are commonly used for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in clinical practice.