Volume 1, Number 4—October 1995
Dispatch
An Outbreak of Hemoytic Uremic Syndrome Associated with Antibiotic Treatment of Hospital Inpatients for Dysentery
Table 1
Characteristics on hospital admission of dysentery patients whose illness did or did not develop into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) during hospitalization, Najran, Saudi Arabia, March through May 1993
| Characteristic | Developed HUS (10) | Did not develop HUS (32) | p valuea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr mean) | 4.4 | 4.8 | 0.71 |
| Male sex | 7 (70%) | 23 (72%) | 1.0 |
| Percentile weight for ageb(median) | 15.4 | 16.3 | 0.57 |
| Below fifth percentile | 6 (60%) | 12 (38%) | 0.29 |
| Days with dysentery (median) | 3 | 3 | 0.70 |
| Range | 2-8 | 1-14 | |
| Stools on first hospital day (median) | 12.5 | 9.0 | 0.23 |
| Range | 2-26 | 2-43 | |
| Temperature (mean) | 38.2ºC | 38.0ºC | 0.64 |
| Range | 36.8ºC-39.4ºC | 36.5ºC-39.4ºC | |
| Hematocrit (mean) | 38.9% | 38.8% | 0.94 |
| Below 35.5% | 4 (40%) | 7 (23%) | 0.43 |
| Thrombocytes/mm3 | 555,000 | 501,000 | 0.62 |
| Below 150,00000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leucocytes/mm3(mean) | 11,440 | 12,300 | 0.62 |
| Above 12,000 | 7 (70%) | 22 (69%) | 1.0 |
| Above 18,000 | 1 (10%) | 4 (13%) | 1.0 |
| Serum sodium, mmol/L (mean) | 130 | 134 | 0.02 |
| Below 130 mmol/L | 4 (40%) | 7 (22%) | 0.41 |
| Serum potassium, mmol/L (mean) | 3.4 | 3.4 | 0.86 |
| Below 3.5 mmol/L | 5 (50%) | 16 (50%) | 1.0 |
| Serum creatinine, mmol/L (mean) | 72 | 62 | 0.62 |
| Above 62 mmol/L | 5 (50%) | 13 (41%) | 1.0 |
| BUN, mmol/L (mean) | 4.1 | 3.2 | 0.06 |
| Above 6.0 mmol/L | 2 (20%) | 2 (6%) | 0.24 |
aDifferences in means by Student's t-test, in medians by the Kruskal-Wallis test, and in proportions by Fisher's exact test (two-tailed).
bNational Center for Health Statistics.
