Comparative Clinical Assessment and Risk Stratification of COVID-19 and Influenza Infections in Adults and Children: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background and objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease that rapidly spread over the world, prompting to it to be declared a global pandemic. Since the illness exhibits similar symptoms as influenza, it can be challenging to tell the two diseases apart, especially during the influenza season. Therefore, it was necessary to carry out a comparative study to assess the clinical risks and outcomes of COVID-19 and influenza. Methods The search for relevant articles was carried out through the database search method and a manual search which involved going through the reference lists of articles related to the topic for additional studies. The Quality appraisal was carried out using the Newcastle Ottawa tool, while data analysis was done using the Review Manager Software (RevMan 5.4.1). Results The meta-analysis results show that COVID-19 patients had similar lengths of hospital stay (SMD: -0.25; 95% CI: -0.60 to 0.11; p = 0.17). However, COVID-19 patients had significantly higher mortality rates (RR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.37; p < 0.0001), in-hospital complications (RR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.50 to 0.65; p < 0.00001), intensive care unit (ICU) admissions (OR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.61; p < 0.00001), length of ICU stay (SMD: -0.45; 95% CI: -0.83 to 0.06; p = 0.02), and mechanical ventilation use (OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.46; p < 0.00001). Conclusion The findings suggest that COVID-19 is more severe than influenza. Therefore, “flu-like” symptoms should not be dismissed without a clear diagnosis, especially during the winter seasons when influenza is more common.