title: A cross-sectional study to assess the long-term health status of patients with lower respiratory tract infections, including Q fever.
abstract: Patients with a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) might be at risk for long-term impaired health status. We assessed whether LRTI patients without Q fever are equally at risk for developing long-term symptoms compared to LRTI patients with Q fever. The study was a cross-sectional cohort design. Long-term health status information of 50 Q fever-positive and 32 Q fever-negative LRTI patients was obtained. Health status was measured by the Nijmegen Clinical Screening Instrument. The most severely affected subdomains of the Q fever-positive group were 'general quality of life' (40%) and 'fatigue' (40%). The most severely affected subdomains of the Q fever-negative group were 'fatigue' (64%) and 'subjective pulmonary symptoms' (35%). Health status did not differ significantly between Q fever-positive LRTI patients and Q fever-negative LRTI patients for all subdomains, except for 'subjective pulmonary symptoms' (P = 0·048).
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Municipal Health Service Hart voor Brabant, 's-Hertogenbosch,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A S G
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: van Dam
authors.affiliation: Academic Collaborative Centre AMPHI, Department of Primary and Community Care,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J A F
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: van Loenhout
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology and Department of Lung Diseases,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Control, Municipal Health Service Hart voor Brabant, 's-Hertogenbosch,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rietveld
authors.affiliation: Academic Collaborative Centre AMPHI, Department of Primary and Community Care,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Paget
authors.affiliation: Academic Collaborative Centre AMPHI, Department of Primary and Community Care,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Akkermans
authors.affiliation: Academic Collaborative Centre AMPHI, Department of Primary and Community Care,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olde Loohuis
authors.affiliation: Academic Collaborative Centre AMPHI, Department of Primary and Community Care,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J L A
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hautvast
authors.affiliation: Academic Collaborative Centre AMPHI, Department of Primary and Community Care,Radboud University Medical Centre,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Velden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000453:epidemiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult