Atypical SARS and Escherichia coli bacteremia.
We describe a patient with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) whose clinical symptoms were masked by Escherichia coli bacteremia. SARS developed in a cluster of healthcare workers who had contact with this patient. SARS was diagnosed when a chest infiltrate developed and when the patient's brother was hospitalized with acute respiratory failure. We highlight problems in atypical cases and offer infection control suggestions.
Tan
Thuan Tong
TT
Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. gimttt@sgh.com.sg
Tan
Ban Hock
BH
Kurup
Asok
A
Oon
Lynette Lin Ean
LL
Heng
Derrick
D
Thoe
Su Yun Se
SY
Bai
Xin Lai
XL
Chan
Kwai Peng
KP
Ling
Ai Ee
AE
D016470:Bacteremia / Q000150:complications*; D001483:Base Sequence; D016358:Contact Tracing; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D011482:Protective Devices; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology
D004279:DNA, Viral