Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
1995-8-31
pubmed:abstractText
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) at a university hospital in order to assess the relationship between delay in treatment and mortality and to identify predictors of delay in initiating therapy. Patients with RMSF who received antirickettsial therapy within 5 days of the onset of symptoms were significantly less likely to die than were those who received treatment after the 5th day of illness (6.5% vs. 22.9%, respectively; P < .03). Ninety percent of patients were seen by a physician during this 5-day period, yet less than one-half of them received treatment before day 6. Three factors were independent predictors of failure by the physician to initiate therapy the first time a patient was seen: absence of a rash, presentation between 1 August and 30 April, and presentation within the first 3 days of illness. Until reliable early diagnostic tests become available, physicians may be able to decrease the mortality associated with RMSF by instituting empirical treatment of suspected cases within the first 5 days of illness.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
1058-4838
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
20
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1118-21
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1995
pubmed:articleTitle
Therapeutic delay and mortality in cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article