Viral Load as a Factor Affecting the Fatality of Patients Suffering from Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome
Heyon-Na Jo, Jieun Kim, Seong-Yeon Hwang, Jun-Won Seo, Da Young Kim, Da Young Kim, Na Ra Yun, Dong‐Min Kim, Dong‐Min Kim, Choon‐Mee Kim, Sook‐In Jung, Uh Jin Kim, Seong Eun Kim, Hyun Ah Kim, Eu Suk Kim, Jian Hur, Young Keun Kim, Hye Won Jeong, Jung Yeon Heo, Dong Sik Jung, Hyungdon Lee, Sun Hee Park, Yee Gyung Kwak, Su Jin Lee, Seungjin Lim
Abstract
The clinical characteristics and the effect of viral RNA loads on fatality in 56 patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) were analyzed. The non-survival group (12 patients) demonstrated a significantly higher mean age (77 years) than the survival group (44 patients, 65 years) (p = 0.003). The survival rates were 91.7% and 8.3% in patients with Ct values ≥30 and differed significantly (p = 0.001) in the survival and non-survival groups, respectively. The survival rates were 52.4% and 47.6% in patients with viral copy numbers ≥10,000 and 94.3% and 5.7% in patients with viral copy numbers <10,000 in the survival and non-survival groups, respectively (p = 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, viral copy numbers and initial Acute Psychologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores were identified as the factors affecting fatality (p = 0.015 and 0.011, respectively). SFTS viral RNA loads can be useful markers for the clinical prediction of mortality and survival.