Volume 26, Number 2—February 2020
CME ACTIVITY - Research
Characteristics of Patients with Acute Flaccid Myelitis, United States, 2015–2018
Nilay McLaren, Adriana Lopez, Sarah Kidd, John X. Zhang, W. Allan Nix, Ruth Link-Gelles, Adria Lee, and Janell A. Routh
Table 4
Descriptive characteristics of confirmed AFM cases in patients <22 years of age who were negative for enterovirus A71 during peak years, United States, January–December 2016 and 2018*
| Characteristic | 2016, n = 141 | 2018, n = 212 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y, median (range) [IQR] |
5.4 (0.4–21.2) [3.3–9.8] |
5.3 (0.5–21.9) [3.4–7.8] |
0.68 |
| Sex | |||
| M | 86/141 (61) | 120/212 (57) | 0.44 |
| F |
55/141 (39) |
92/212 (43) |
0.44 |
| Lumbar puncture | 134/139 (96) | 197/212 (93) | 0.13 |
| Pleocytosis† | 113/132 (86) | 158/184 (86) | 1 |
| CSF, cells/mm3, median (range) [IQR] | 73 (0–3,261) [18–150] | 73 (0–814) [25.5–149] | 0.86 |
| Upper extremity involvement only | 48/141 (34) | 71/212 (33) | 1 |
| Lower extremity involvement only | 25/141 (18) | 23/212 (11) | 0.08 |
| Paralysis of all 4 limbs | 44/141 (31) | 50/212 (24) | 0.14 |
| Severe AFM‡ | 9/141 (6) | 0/212 | <0.001 |
| Cranial nerve lesion |
52/141 (37) |
42/212 (20) |
<0.001 |
| Illness within previous 4 weeks | |||
| Any fever | 91/135 (67) | 154/210 (73) | <0.001 |
| Any respiratory illness | 104/137 (76) | 172/210 (82) | 0.004 |
| Any gastrointestinal illness | 32/124 (26) | 72/207 (35) | 0.003 |
| Any respiratory illness or fever |
120/141 (85) |
195/212 (92) |
0.05 |
| Enterovirus/rhinovirus RNA positive | 32/92 (35) | 53/153 (35) | 1 |
| Enterovirus D68 | 24/32 (75) | 29/53 (55) | 0.07 |
*Values are no./total (%), except where indicated otherwise. AFM, acute flaccid myelitis; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; IQR, interquartile range.
†Defined as leukocyte count >5 cells/mm3.
‡Defined as AFM cases of respiratory distress that required mechanical ventilation, cranial nerve involvement, and paralysis of all 4 limbs.
Page created: January 15, 2020
Page updated: January 15, 2020
Page reviewed: January 15, 2020
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