jueves, 30 de octubre de 2014

Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone — NEJM

Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone — NEJM



Study Describes Features of Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone

An NIAID-funded study of patients diagnosed with Ebola virus disease at the beginning of the 2014 outbreak in Sierra Leone provides a detailed description of the illness. The scientists found that while bleeding rarely occurred, many patients experienced diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. The fatality rate and time from infection to onset of symptoms were similar to those seen in previous Ebola outbreaks. The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Read more: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411680 

Clinical Illness and Outcomes in Patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone

John S. Schieffelin, M.D., M.S.P.H., Jeffrey G. Shaffer, Ph.D., Augustine Goba, B.Sc., Michael Gbakie, R.N., Stephen K. Gire, M.P.H., Andres Colubri, Ph.D., Rachel S.G. Sealfon, S.M., Lansana Kanneh, Alex Moigboi, R.N., Mambu Momoh, Mohammed Fullah, Lina M. Moses, Ph.D., Bethany L. Brown, M.S.C.S., Kristian G. Andersen, Ph.D., Sarah Winnicki, M.S., Stephen F. Schaffner, Ph.D., Daniel J. Park, Ph.D., Nathan L. Yozwiak, Ph.D., Pan-Pan Jiang, Ph.D., David Kargbo, Simbirie Jalloh, Mbalu Fonnie, R.N., Vandi Sinnah, Issa French, Alice Kovoma, Fatima K. Kamara, R.N., Veronica Tucker, Edwin Konuwa, R.N., Josephine Sellu, R.N., Ibrahim Mustapha, Momoh Foday, Mohamed Yillah, Franklyn Kanneh, Sidiki Saffa, James L.B. Massally, Matt L. Boisen, Luis M. Branco, Ph.D., Mohamed A. Vandi, M.B., Ch.B., Donald S. Grant, M.B., Ch.B., Christian Happi, Ph.D., Sahr M. Gevao, M.B., Ch.B., Thomas E. Fletcher, M.D., Robert A. Fowler, M.D., Daniel G. Bausch, M.D., M.P.H.T.M., Pardis C. Sabeti, M.D., D.Phil., S. Humarr Khan, M.B., Ch.B., and Robert F. Garry, Ph.D. for the KGH Lassa Fever Program, the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, and the WHO Clinical Response Team
October 29, 2014DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1411680
Abstract
Article
References

BACKGROUND

Limited clinical and laboratory data are available on patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD). The Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone, which had an existing infrastructure for research regarding viral hemorrhagic fever, has received and cared for patients with EVD since the beginning of the outbreak in Sierra Leone in May 2014.

METHODS

We reviewed available epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory records of patients in whom EVD was diagnosed between May 25 and June 18, 2014. We used quantitative reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assays to assess the load of Ebola virus (EBOV, Zaire species) in a subgroup of patients.

RESULTS

Of 106 patients in whom EVD was diagnosed, 87 had a known outcome, and 44 had detailed clinical information available. The incubation period was estimated to be 6 to 12 days, and the case fatality rate was 74%. Common findings at presentation included fever (in 89% of the patients), headache (in 80%), weakness (in 66%), dizziness (in 60%), diarrhea (in 51%), abdominal pain (in 40%), and vomiting (in 34%). Clinical and laboratory factors at presentation that were associated with a fatal outcome included fever, weakness, dizziness, diarrhea, and elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, and creatinine. Exploratory analyses indicated that patients under the age of 21 years had a lower case fatality rate than those over the age of 45 years (57% vs. 94%, P=0.03), and patients presenting with fewer than 100,000 EBOV copies per milliliter had a lower case fatality rate than those with 10 million EBOV copies per milliliter or more (33% vs. 94%, P=0.003). Bleeding occurred in only 1 patient.

CONCLUSIONS

The incubation period and case fatality rate among patients with EVD in Sierra Leone are similar to those observed elsewhere in the 2014 outbreak and in previous outbreaks. Although bleeding was an infrequent finding, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal manifestations were common. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.)

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario