Table 3. Clinical features of survivors with prolonged MERS-CoV detection, Saudi Arabia, August 1, 2015–August 31, 2016*.
| Clinical feature |
Total, N = 19 |
Days to negativity |
p value† |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
<11 d, n = 11 |
>11 d, n = 8 |
|||
| Symptoms before admission‡ | ||||
| No symptoms | 4/18 (21) | 3/10 (30) | 1/8 (13) | 0.603 |
| Fever | 13/18 (72) | 7/10 (70) | 6/8 (75) | 1.000 |
| Cough | 11/18 (61) | 5/10 (50) | 6/8 (75) | 0.367 |
| Dyspnea | 6/18 (33) | 2/10 (20) | 4/8 (50) | 0.321 |
| Vomiting | 5/18 (28) | 2/10 (20) | 3/8 (38) | 0.608 |
| Diarrhea |
3/18 (17) |
0/10 |
3/8 (38) |
0.069 |
| Clinical course‡ | ||||
| Room air | 13/18 (72) | 9/10 (90) | 4/8 (50) | 0.118 |
| Ventilator support§ | 5/18 (28) | 1/10 (10) | 4/8 (50) | |
| Abnormal chest radiograph |
9/18 (50) |
4/10 (40) |
5/8 (63) |
0.637 |
| Medications¶ | ||||
| Ribavirin plus peg-IFNα | 2/19 (11) | 0/11 | 2/8 (25) | 0.164 |
| Oseltamivir | 12/19 (63) | 6/11 (55) | 6/8 (75) | 0.633 |
| Antibiotics | 15/19 (79) | 8/11 (73) | 7/8 (88) | 0.603 |
| Parenteral steroids | 3/19 (16) | 0/11 | 3/8 (38) | 0.058 |
| Group 2 only# | 3/5 (60) | 0/1 | 3/4 (75) | 0.400 |
| Inhaled steroids | 2/19 (11) | 0/11 | 2/8 (25) | 0.164 |
| Group 2 only# | 2/5 (40) | 0/1 | 2/4 (50) | 1.000 |
| Bronchodilators | 5/19 (26) | 2/11 (18) | 3/8 (38) | 0.603 |
| Antipyretics | 9/19 (47) | 6/11 (55) | 3/8 (38) | 0.650 |
*Values are no. (%) patients except as indicated. Group 2, ventilated but survived; MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. †p values are for Fisher exact or Kruskall–Wallis tests comparing long-term and short-term. ‡Excludes patient no. 30, who was admitted and intubated before onset because of injuries sustained in a road traffic accident (N = 18). §Includes mechanical or nonmechanical (i.e., bi-level positive airway pressure) ventilation. ¶Medication given during MERS-CoV detection period (on the basis of diagnostic testing in respiratory specimens). #Assessing steroid use among G2 patients only.