• Emanuele Palomba, Valeria Castelli, Giulia Renisi, Alessandra Bandera, Andrea Lombardi, and Andrea Gori.
• Infectious Diseases Unit, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.
• Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2021 Dec 1; 42 (6): 859-872.

AbstractInfluenza is an acute respiratory illness caused by the influenza A, B, and C viruses. It can occur in local outbreaks or seasonal epidemics, with possibility to spread worldwide in a pandemic when a novel strain with significant antigenic differences emerges. During the past years, several new drugs have become available, with different accessibility related to specific countries' approval. We have conducted a review of literature, analyzing the most recent data on efficacy and safety of drugs currently available to treat influenza, with a particular attention toward special populations. Efficacy and safety profile of neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir, zanamivir, laninamivir, peramivir) and recently approved cap-dependent endonuclease inhibitor baloxavir marboxil are reported in literature, but still little information is available about special populations such as critically ill patients and patients with a history of chronic respiratory disease. Moreover, the emergence of strains with reduced or no susceptibility to current drugs is a matter of concern, suggesting the need of constant monitoring of viral variants.Thieme. All rights reserved.

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