Volume 24, Number 11—November 2018
Dispatch
Ehrlichia Infections, North Carolina, USA, 2016
Ross M. Boyce
, Alan M. Sanfilippo, John M. Boulos, Meghan Cleinmark, John Schmitz, and Steve Meshnick
, Alan M. Sanfilippo, John M. Boulos, Meghan Cleinmark, John Schmitz, and Steve Meshnick
Table
Patient characteristics stratified by provider-ordered Ehrlichia testing, North Carolina, 2016*
| Characteristic | Tested for Ehrlichia, no. (%), n = 70† | Not tested for Ehrlichia, no. (%), n = 124† | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex |
|||
| M |
39 (55.7) |
64 (52.0) |
0.48 |
| F |
31 (44.2) |
60 (48.0) |
|
| Setting | 0.09 | ||
| Outpatient clinic | 42 (63.4) | 57 (48.3) | |
| Emergency department | 16 (24.2) | 47 (39.8) | |
| Inpatient |
8 (12.1) |
14 (11.9) |
|
| Provider medical specialty | 0.001 | ||
| Emergency medicine | 13 (18.8) | 43 (34.7) | |
| Family medicine | 16 (23.2) | 20 (16.1) | |
| Infectious diseases | 9 (13.0) | 2 (1.6) | |
| Internal medicine | 15 (21.7) | 18 (14.5) | |
| Other |
16 (23.2) |
41 (33.1) |
|
| Reported signs and symptoms | |||
| Fever | 27 (38.6) | 47 (37.9) | 0.93 |
| Headache | 22 (31.4) | 32 (25.8) | 0.40 |
| Myalgia | 11 (15.7) | 31 (25.0) | 0.13 |
| Rash |
12 (17.1) |
27 (21.8) |
0.44 |
| Tick exposure‡ |
28 (41.2) |
33 (27.7) |
0.05 |
| Testing | |||
| SFGR | 62 (88.6) | 92 (74.2) | 0.02 |
| Lyme disease |
48 (68.6) |
80 (64.5) |
0.57 |
| Positive test result | |||
| Ehrlichia | 9 (12.9) | 25 (20.2) | 0.20 |
| SFGR | 15 (24.2) | 22 (23.9) | 0.97 |
| Lyme disease |
0 (0.0) |
1 (1.3) |
0.44 |
| Doxycycline prescribed |
27 (39.7) |
67 (55.8) |
0.03 |
| Convalescent-phase serology performed | 15 (21.7) | 10 (8.1) | 0.007 |
*Boldface indicates significance at p<0.05. IQR, interquartile range; SFGR, spotted fever group Rickettsia.
†Among those tested for Ehrlichia, median (IQR) age was 53.5 (33–67) y, and among those not tested for Ehrllichia, median (IQR) age was 46 (30–61.5) y (p = 0.48). Among those tested for Ehrlichia, duration of symptoms was 6.5 (3–14) d, and among those not tested for Ehrlichia, duration was 5.5 (3–14) d (p = 0.59). Numbers and percentages vary because some data were not available.
‡Unable to determine exposure status for 24 (35.3%) of 68 patients tested for Ehrlichia and 64 (53.8%) of 119 patients not tested for Ehrlichia.
Page created: October 17, 2018
Page updated: October 17, 2018
Page reviewed: October 17, 2018
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