Características sociodemográficas y clínicas de pacientes con infección por Leptospira spp. atendidos en cuatro centros hospitalarios de Medellín, Colombia, 2008-2013

Translated title of the contribution: Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients infected with Leptospira spp. treated at four hospitals in Medellín, Colombia, 2008-2013

Lina María Echeverri-Toro, Sara Penagos, Laura Castañeda, Pablo Villa, Santiago Atehortúa, Faiver Ramírez, Carlos Restrepo, Sigifredo Ospina, Yuli Agudelo, Alicia Hidrón, Paola Agudelo, Eliana Valderrama, Carlos Andrés Agudelo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle in an indexed scientific journalpeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Leptospirosis remains a significant health problem in tropical regions including Latin America, where its presentation is 100 times higher than that observed in other regions of the world. Mortality reaches 10% in severe cases. Its diagnosis is challenging because clinical manifestations during the initial phase are non-specific and because of limited availability of diagnostic tests. Objective: To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics and the outcomes in hospitalized patients with leptospirosis. Materials and methods: This retrospective study included patients treated at four institutions in Medellín between January, 2009, and December, 2013, with a compatible clinical picture and a positive IgM for Leptospira spp. Results: We included 119 patients, 80% male, and 58% of rural origin. The mean duration of symptoms was 9.6 days (SD=9.6). Eighty nine per cent of patients had fever; 62%, jaundice; 74%, myalgia; 46%, diarrhea; 41%, hepatomegaly; 13%, splenomegaly, and 13%, conjunctival injection. Fifty four per cent of patients had impaired renal function; 32%, pulmonary compromise, and 13%, liver failure. Sixteen per cent required admission to the ICU; 12%, mechanical ventilation, and 11%, vasopressor therapy. Weil's syndrome occurred in 38.6% and 5% died. The average hospital stay was 11 days (SD=9.6). Conclusions: In this population, the clinical manifestations and complications of leptospirosis were similar to those reported in the literature. We observed a relatively low overall mortality in relation to global statistics.

Translated title of the contributionSociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients infected with Leptospira spp. treated at four hospitals in Medellín, Colombia, 2008-2013
Original languageSpanish
Pages (from-to)62-67
Number of pages6
JournalBiomedica
Volume37
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

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