Toddler Critical After Rare Flu Complication at Shaare Zedek

A two-year-old girl with no underlying medical conditions is hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem following a rare complication of influenza. The child, who had received routine childhood vaccinations but not the seasonal flu shot, arrived at the pediatric emergency room in serious condition after suffering seizures at home.

According to the hospital, the girl had experienced fever and severe vomiting for a full day at home. Due to lack of appetite, she drank large quantities of water. When she began seizing, she was rushed to Shaare Zedek's pediatric emergency department, where she tested positive for influenza.

"The child was diagnosed with SIADH syndrome, a condition in which the body secretes or activates an excessive amount of ADH hormone, also called antidiuretic hormone. The hormone's function is to regulate the amount of water the kidneys return to the body," explained Dr. Giora Weiser, director of Shaare Zedek's pediatric emergency department, who treated the girl together with Dr. Harel Munish, a resident physician.

Dr. Weiser explained that when the hormone is secreted excessively, the kidneys reabsorb more water instead of excreting it in urine. "Therefore, the amount of water in the body rises relative to the amount of sodium, leading to hyponatremia, low sodium levels in the blood, which can also lead to seizures, a severe symptom of the syndrome that without treatment can even be life-threatening," he said.

The physician emphasized that precisely in these situations, it is important to limit fluid intake to reduce excess water in the body, naturally after ruling out other factors such as dehydration.

"The girl's condition is stable and she is improving," updated Dr. Amir Zilkha, a senior physician in Shaare Zedek's pediatric intensive care unit. "SIADH syndrome is a complication of influenza that we see from time to time, but the severity level in this girl's case is rare ... Adherence to routine vaccinations is important, and the need for seasonal flu vaccination every year is challenging, but it is the best protection against influenza, which can lead to severe and even life-threatening damage."

Shaare Zedek Medical Center currently has ten patients hospitalized with influenza, three of them in departments and intensive care units. This is the highest number of hospitalized patients so far since the beginning of the season.

This case joins a series of severe cases reported in recent weeks at hospitals across the country. About a week ago, an eight-year-old girl was reported hospitalized in intensive care at the same hospital in serious condition due to a flu complication, also without seasonal vaccination. Meanwhile, an encouraging recovery was recorded for a 17-year-old girl at Assuta Ashdod who was hospitalized in serious condition due to influenza and after a week in intensive care, is no longer in life-threatening danger.