Ongoing PIFCLU Studies:
How We Do It
When children are admitted to the intensive care unit and we suspect them of having an influenza infection, we collect samples of their body fluids including their blood and respiratory secretions. Research laboratories at Boston Children’s and elsewhere perform many important tests on these samples. We pair the results of these tests with clinical information that we collected during the patient's stay in the hospital. We also follow up some children after discharge to evaluate longer term effects of the influenza infection on the child’s health. In children that don’t test positive for influenza virus, we use their samples to compare how influenza virus acts differently than other pathogens and to better understand their specific infection.