Symptom- and Laboratory-Based Ebola Risk Scores to Differentiate Likely Ebola Infections

Shefali Oza, Alieu A Sesay, Neal J Russell, Kevin Wing, Sabah Boufkhed, Lahai Vandi, Sahr C Sebba, Rachael Cummings, Francesco Checchi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Rapidly identifying likely Ebola patients is difficult because of a broad case definition, overlap of symptoms with common illnesses, and lack of rapid diagnostics. However, rapid identification is critical for care and containment of contagion. We analyzed retrospective data from 252 Ebola-positive and 172 Ebola-negative patients at a Sierra Leone Ebola treatment center to develop easy-to-use risk scores, based on symptoms and laboratory tests (if available), to stratify triaged patients by their likelihood of having Ebola infection. Headache, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, and conjunctivitis comprised the symptom-based score. The laboratory-based score also included creatinine, creatine kinase, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin. This risk score correctly identified 92% of Ebola-positive patients as high risk for infection; both scores correctly classified >70% of Ebola-negative patients as low or medium risk. Clinicians can use these risk scores to gauge the likelihood of triaged patients having Ebola while awaiting laboratory confirmation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1792-1799
Number of pages8
JournalEmerging infectious diseases
Volume23
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2017

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola/diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Biological
  • Point-of-Care Testing
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Time-to-Treatment
  • Triage/methods
  • Young Adult

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute

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