ABSTRACT
@#Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical features and risk factors for severe tsutsugamushi disease, so as to provide reference for diagnosis and differentiation of severe tsutsugamushi disease as soon as possible. Methods The clinical data of 178 cases of inpatients with tsutsugamushi disease admitted to the Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University from January 2016 to September 2021 were collected and analyzed according to their gender, age, underlying diseases, clinical characteristics at admission, laboratory examination results within 24 hours of admission and epidemiological history. The patients were divided into the severe group and the non-severe group according to the diagnostic criteria. The data of clinical characteristics, laboratory examination and prognosis of the two groups were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on the variables with statistical significance and the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn. Results A total of 178 patients were included in this study, with 37 in the severe group and 141 in the non-severe group. Compared with the non-severe group, the age of the severe group was older, the underlying diseases were more, the incidence of dyspnea and the levels of white blood cell, total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, cystatin C, uric acid and serum creatinine were significantly increased, the levels of platelet and albumin were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). The dyspnea [odds ratio (OR value)=8.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.200-66.424; P=0.032], total bilirubin (OR=1.091, 95%CI: 1.028-1.159; P=0.004) and serum creatinine (OR=1.052, 95%CI: 1.004-1.102; P=0.033) were independent risk factors for severe tsutsugamushi disease. The area under ROC curve of total bilirubin and serum creatinine were 0.777 and 0.764, respectively (both P<0.01), indicating high predictive value for severe tsutsugamushi disease. The optimal cut-off value for total bilirubin was 23.01 µmol/L, with a sensitivity of 54.10% and a specificity of 90.60%; the optimal cut-off value for creatinine was 126.45 µmol/L, with a sensitivity of 43.20% and a specificity of 100.00%. The case fatality rate of severe tsutsugamushi disease was 2.70%. Conclusions The patients with severe tsutsugamushi disease are older, and have more underlying diseases. Dyspnea, increased total bilirubin and elevated serum creatinine are independent risk factors for severe tsutsugamushi disease, which can help in the early identification of severe tsutsugamushi disease early.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has contributed to a new increment in cases across the globe. We conducted a prospective follow-up of COVID-19 cases to explore the recurrence and potential propagation risk of the Delta variant and discuss potential explanations for the infection recurrence. A prospective, non-interventional follow-up of discharged patients who had SARS-CoV-2 infections by the Delta variant in Guangdong, China, from May 2021 to June 2021 was conducted. The subjects were asked to complete a physical health examination and undergo nucleic acid testing and antibody detection for the laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19. In total, 20.33% (25/123) of patients exhibited recurrent positive results after discharge. All patients with infection recurrence were asymptomatic and showed no abnormalities in the pulmonary computed tomography. The time from discharge to the recurrent positive testing was usually between 1-33 days, with a mean time of 9.36 days. The cycle threshold from the real-time polymerase chain reaction assay that detected the recurrence of positivity ranged from 27.48 to 39.00, with an average of 35.30. The proportion of vaccination in the non-recurrent group was higher than that in the recurrently positive group (26% vs. 4%; χ2 = 7.902; P < 0.05). Two months after discharge, the most common symptom was hair loss and 59.6% of patients had no long-term symptoms at all. It is possible for the Delta variant SARS-CoV-2 patients after discharge to show recurrent positive results of nucleic acid detection; however, there is a low risk of continuous community transmission. Both, the physical and mental quality of life of discharged patients were significantly affected. Our results suggest that it makes sense to implement mass vaccination against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.