Table 1.
Clinical and Laboratory Features of Patients Recruited to Murine Typhus Clinical Trial
| Variablea | All Patients | Rickettsia typhi Positive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serology and/or PCR | PCR | ||
| Patients, No. (%) | 216 (100) | 158 (73.2)b | 52 (24.2)c |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 30 (22–41) | 30 (21–42) | 39 (22–47) |
| Female sex, No. (%) | 91 (42.1) | 61 (38.6) | 20 (38.5) |
| Duration of illness, median (IQR), d | 8 (7–10) | 8 (7–10) | 8 (7–10) |
| Symptoms, No. (%) | |||
| Headache | 204/215d (94.9) | 152/157 (96.8) | 51 (98.1) |
| Myalgia | 164 (75.9) | 122 (77.2) | 45 (86.5) |
| Abdominal pain | 15/215 (7.0) | 12/157 (7.6) | 6 (11.5) |
| Nausea | 63 (29.2) | 48 (30.4) | 16 (30.8) |
| Vomiting | 60 (27.8) | 45 (28.5) | 16 (30.8) |
| Diarrhea | 58 (26.9) | 44 (27.9) | 21 (40.4) |
| Cough | 97 (44.9) | 69 (43.7) | 24 (46.2) |
| Lymphadenopathy | 28/215 (13.0) | 21/157 (13.4) | 9 (17.3) |
| Rash | 41 (19.0) | 31 (19.6) | 14 (26.9) |
| Liver palpable | 19 (8.8) | 12 (7.6) | 4 (7.7) |
| Spleen palpable | 13 (6.0) | 10 (6.3) | 4 (7.7) |
| Tympanic temperature, mean (95% CI), °C | 38.5 (38.4–38.7) | 38.6 (38.4–38.7) | 38.7 (38.5–38.9) |
| Pulse rate, median (IQR), pulses/min | 98 (88–100) (n = 215)d | 98 (88–100) (n = 157) | 100 (89–100) |
| Systolic BP, median (IQR), mm Hg | 100 (100–120) | 100 (100–120) | 100 (95–120) |
| Diastolic BP, median (IQR), mm Hg | 70 (60–80) | 70 (60–80) | 70 (60–80) |
| Respiratory rate, mean (95% CI), respirations/min | 22.3 (21.5–23.0) (n = 213) | 22.3 (21.3–23.4) (n = 155) | 22.4 (21.4–23.4) |
| Body weight, mean (95% CI), kg | 54.6 (53.2–55.9) | 55.7 (54.1–57.2) | 57.4 (54.5–60.3) |
| Hematocrit, mean (95% CI), % | 40.6 (39.9–41.4) (n = 215) | 40.7 (39.8–41.7) (n = 157) | 40.1 (38.6–41.6) (n = 51) |
| WBC count, median (IQR), 109/L | 8.3 (6.4–10.3) (n = 214) | 7.9 (6.4–9.9) (n = 156) | 7.8 (5.8–9.9) (n = 51) |
| Neutrophils, mean (95% CI), % | 64.8 (63.2–66.4) (n = 215) | 64.3 (62.7–65.9) (n = 157) | 66.0 (63.0–69.0) (n = 51) |
| Platelet count, mean (95% CI), 109/L | 192 (185–199) (n = 213) | 191 (183–200) (n = 155) | 187 (169–205) (n = 51) |
| Serum CRP, median (IQR), mg/L | 37.6 (18.5–83.3) (n = 197) | 34.9 (18.5–76.0) (n = 147) | 66.9 (21.9–111.9) (n = 49) |
| Serum creatinine, median (IQR), μmol/L | 97 (80–106) (n = 205) | 97 (80–106) (n = 153) | 97 (80–115) |
| Serum AST, median (IQR), IU/L | 91 (50–165) (n = 200) | 101 (58–167) (n = 149) | 141 (84–187) (n = 49) |
| Serum ALT, median (IQR), IU/L | 33 (18–61) (n = 197) | 36 (22–69) (n = 147) | 42 (27–71) (n = 49) |
| Serum albumin, median (IQR), g/L | 3.6 (3.2–4.0) (n = 202) | 3.6 (3.2–4.0) (n = 151) | 3.2 (2.8–3.6) (n = 51) |
| Serum alkaline phosphatase, median (IQR), IU/L | 105 (74–168) (n = 199) | 119 (77–182) (n = 149) | 168 (96–260) (n = 49) |
| Serum total bilirubin, median (IQR), μmol/L | 5.1 (5.1–8.6) (n = 198) | 5.1 (5.1–8.6) (n = 147) | 6.8 (5.1–13.7) (n = 49) |
Abbreviations: ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BP, blood pressure; CRP, C-reactive protein; IQR, interquartile range; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; WBC, white blood cell.
aReference ranges for laboratory values were as follows: WBC count, 4.0–11.0 109/L; platelet count, 150–400 109/L; serum CRP, <10 mg/L; serum creatinine, 53–123 μmol/L; serum AST, 7–40 IU/L; serum ALT, 7–40 IU/L; serum albumin, 3.5–5.0 g/L; serum alkaline phosphatase 24–190 IU/L; and serum total bilirubin, 1.7–20 μmol/L.
bA total of 163 patients had serologic or PCR evidence of R. typhi infection, but 5 had PCR/culture evidence of another pathogen (Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi, Leptospira spp. in 1 each and Orientia tsutsugamushi in 2). They may have had concurrent dual infections, but we have opted to be conservative and not included these 5 patients, giving a denominator of 158 patients
cA total of 53 patients had PCR evidence of R. typhi infection, but 1 patient was also PCR positive for Leptospira spp., with an apparent dual concurrent infection, and is thus excluded from this column.
dDenominators are provided for variables with missing values.