Adults with Neither Fever Nor Cough Are Unlikely to Have Influenza

But, only about 10% of patients with respiratory illness lacked both symptoms in this small Canadian study.

In a retrospective case-control study of adult patients who presented to two emergency departments in Toronto from April to June 2009 with fever or respiratory symptoms, investigators compared clinical findings between 117 patients with confirmed H1N1 influenza (cases) and 236 patients without influenza (controls). Influenza was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction testing of nasopharyngeal swabs, which were obtained from all patients.

Significantly fewer cases than controls had chronic underlying diseases (44% vs. 55%). Cases were significantly more likely than controls to have cough (odds ratio, 7.8), fever (OR, 3.0), tachycardia (OR, 2.3), headache (OR, 2.0), and myalgia (OR, 1.9) and were significantly less likely…

Reviewing Author

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices

Kristi L. Koenig, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Editorial boardsKoenig & Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles and Practices