Characteristics and Factors Associated with Death among Patients Hospitalized for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, South Korea, 2013

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 21; no. 10; pp. 1704 - 1710
• Main Authors: Shin, Jaeseung, Kwon, Donghyok, Youn, Seung-Ki, Park, Ji-Hyuk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.10.2015; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Bunyaviridae; Bunyaviridae Infections - epidemiology; Bunyaviridae Infections - mortality; Bunyaviridae Infections - virology; Characteristics and Factors Associated with Fatality among Patients Hospitalized for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, South Korea, 2013; Female; Fever; Humans; Hyperthermia; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Phlebotomus Fever - epidemiology; Phlebotomus Fever - virology; phlebovirus; Population Surveillance - methods; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome; Thrombocytopenia; Thrombocytopenia - mortality; Thrombocytopenia - pathology; Thrombocytopenia - virology; Tick-Borne Diseases; tickborne; Ticks; vectorborne; virus; Republic of Korea; South Korea; viruses; ribavirin; Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome; RNA virus; continuous renal replacement therapy; phlebovirus; Haemaphysalis longicornis; fungal pneumonia; tickborne infections; South Korea; vector-borne infections; Bunyaviridae; plasmapheresis; bunyavirus; cerebral hemorrhage; intravenous immunoglobulin
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2110.141928

In South Korea, nationwide surveillance for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) began during 2013. Among 301 surveillance cases, 35 hospitalized case-patients in 25 areas were confirmed by using virologic testing, and 16 (46%) case-patients subsequently died. The SFTS cases occurred during May-November and peaked during June (9 cases, 26%). The incidence of SFTS was higher in the southern regions of South Korea. Age and neurologic symptoms, including decreased level of consciousness and slurred speech, were heavily associated with death; neurologic symptoms during the first week after disease onset were also associated with death. Although melena was common among patients who died, no other hemorrhagic manifestations were substantively more common among those who died. No effective treatments, including ribavirin, were identified. Expansion of SFTS surveillance to include the outpatient sector and development of an antibody test would enhance completeness of SFTS detection in South Korea.