title: Severe acute respiratory syndrome: clinical outcome and prognostic correlates.
abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) poses a major threat to the health of people worldwide. We performed a retrospective case series analysis to assess clinical outcome and identify pretreatment prognostic correlates of SARS, managed under a standardized treatment protocol. We studied 127 male and 196 female patients with a mean age of 41+14 (range 18-83). All patients, except two, received ribavirin and steroid combination therapy. In 115 (36%) patients, the course of disease was limited. Pneumonitis progressed rapidly in the remaining patients. Sixty-seven (21%) patients required intensive care, and 42 (13%) required ventilator support. Advanced age, high admission neutrophil count, and high initial lactate dehydrogenase level were independent correlates of an adverse clinical outcome. SARS-associated coronavirus caused severe illnesses in most patients, despite early treatment with ribavirin and steroid. This study has identified three independent pretreatment prognostic correlates.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000209:etiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012254:Ribavirin