Volume 22, Number 9—September 2016
CME ACTIVITY - Research
Use of Testing for West Nile Virus and Other Arboviruses
Jakapat Vanichanan, Lucrecia Salazar, Susan H. Wootton, Elizabeth Aguilera, Melissa N. Garcia, Kristy O. Murray, and Rodrigo Hasbun
Table 2
Baseline clinical characteristics among 751 patients with meningitis and encephalitis, by West Nile virus testing utilization, Houston, Texas, USA
| Clinical characteristic | West Nile virus testing requested, no. (%), n = 281 | West Nile virus testing not requested, no. (%), n = 470 | p value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic | |||
| Male | 129 (46) | 228 (49) | 0.50 |
| Adult† | 234 (83) | 332 (70) | <0.001 |
| White |
134 (48) |
172 (37) |
0.004 |
| Concurrent medical conditions | |||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score >1 | 32 (11) | 38 (8) | 0.15 |
| HIV infection |
16 (6) |
26 (6) |
1.0 |
| Clinical features | |||
| Altered mental status | 76 (28) | 84 (18) | 0.01 |
| Headache | 232 (83) | 378 (80) | 0.50 |
| Nausea/vomiting | 179 (64) | 311 (66) | 0.52 |
| Seizure | 22 (8) | 31 (7) | 0.39 |
| Illness onset during West Nile virus season‡ | 170 (60) | 220 (47) | 0.002 |
| Fever >38OC | 109 (38) | 214 (46) | 0.08 |
| Glasgow Coma Scale score <15 | 45 (16) | 43 (9) | 0.007 |
| Nuchal rigidity | 71 (25) | 112 (24) | 0.66 |
| Rash | 4 (1) | 17 (4) | 0.11 |
| Focal neurologic abnormalities | 63 (22) | 43 (9) | <0.001 |
| Clinical diagnosis of encephalitis§ | 115 (41) | 122 (26) | <0.001 |
*p<0.001 after Bonferroni correction considered statistically significant.
†>18 y of age. Median age (range) of patients tested 35 (0.2–89), not tested 29 (0.1–92); p<0.001.
‡Jun–Oct.
§Possible, probable, or confirmed diagnosis of encephalitis according to the definition in (13).
Page created: August 10, 2016
Page updated: August 16, 2016
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