• E Murillo-Zamora and C M Hernández-Suárez.
• Departamento de Epidemiología, Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 19, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Colima, México.
• Rev Clin Esp. 2021 Dec 1; 221 (10): 582586582-586.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the performance, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, of the case definition of suspected influenza used in community surveillance in Mexico.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study was perfomed and cases that met the suspected case criteria (n = 20,511) and that had laboratory-conclusive evidence (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) to confirm or discard influenza virus infection, were analysed.ResultsA high sensitivity and modest specificity were documented, which later decreased during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as its diagnostic accuracy. However, no significant differences were observed in the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve among the analysed periods.ConclusionThe evaluated case definition remains to be a cost-effective alternative for identifying patients who may benefit from influenza-specific antiviral drugs, even during the global COVID-19 outbreak.© 2021 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI). All rights reserved.

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