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Hemorrhage, myalgia predictors of death in Ebola patients
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Myalgia, hemorrhage and difficulty breathing are independently associated with death in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, according to data published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Researchers from CHU Conakry in Guinea conducted a prospective observational study of 89 patients diagnosed with Ebola. Among those, 39 patients died, yielding a crude mortality rate of 43.8%. The median time from hospitalization to death was 3.5 days, and the cause of death was hypovolemic shock and multi-organ failure in each patient.
The researchers said early symptoms of Ebola include fever, extreme asthenia, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, abdominal pain, headaches, arthralgia, myalgia and back pain. In a univariate analysis, none of these symptoms was significantly associated with death. Using multivariate analysis, independent predictors of death included hemorrhage (OR = 3.52; 95% CI, 1.2-10.36), myalgia (OR = 4.04; 95% CI, 1.27-12) and difficulty breathing (OR = 5.75; 95% CI, 1.42-23.17).
“A previous study showed almost two-thirds of the survivors continued to suffer from myalgia 21 months after their acute illness, and many described their myalgia and arthralgia as major health problems,” the researchers wrote. “Moreover, the factors associated with myalgia in [Ebola] patients are not well known.”
The researchers said that hemorrhage, typically gastrointestinal bleeding, is one of the main manifestations of Ebola disease, and it usually appeared in the hours before death. – by Emily Shafer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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