1887
Research article Open Access
Like 0

Abstract

Prevention of nosocomial Ebola virus (EBOV) infection among patients admitted to an Ebola management centre (EMC) is paramount. Current Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) guidelines recommend classifying admitted patients at triage into suspect and highly-suspect categories pending laboratory confirmation. We investigated the performance of the MSF triage system to separate patients with subsequent EBOV-positive laboratory test (true-positive admissions) from patients who were initially admitted on clinical grounds but subsequently tested EBOV-negative (false-positive admissions). We calculated standard diagnostic test statistics for triage allocation into suspect or highly-suspect wards (index test) and subsequent positive or negative laboratory results (reference test) among 433 patients admitted into the MSF EMC Kailahun, Sierra Leone, between 1 July and 30 September 2014. 254 (59%) of admissions were classified as highly-suspect, the remaining 179 (41%) as suspect. 276 (64%) were true-positive admissions, leaving 157 (36.3%) false-positive admissions exposed to the risk of nosocomial EBOV infection. The positive predictive value for receiving a positive laboratory result after being allocated to the highly-suspect ward was 76%. The corresponding negative predictive value was 54%. Sensitivity and specificity were 70% and 61%, respectively. Results for accurate patient classification were unconvincing. The current triage system should be changed. Whenever possible, patients should be accommodated in single compartments pending laboratory confirmation. Furthermore, the initial triage step on whether or not to admit a patient in the first place must be improved. What is ultimately needed is a point-of-care EBOV diagnostic test that is reliable, accurate, robust, mobile, affordable, easy to use outside strict biosafety protocols, providing results with quick turnaround time.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.50.30097
2015-12-17
2024-04-20
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.50.30097
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/20/50/eurosurv-20-50-3.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.50.30097&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Farrar JJ, Piot P. The Ebola emergency--immediate action, ongoing strategy. N Engl J Med. 2014;371(16):1545-6.  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe1411471  PMID: 25244185 
  2. World Health Organization (WHO). Ebola virus disease in Guinea. Geneva: WHO; 23 March 2014. Available from: http://www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-a-programmes/dpc/epidemic-a-pandemic-alert-and-response/outbreak-news/4063-ebola-hemorrhagic-fever-in-guinea.html
  3. Weyer J, Blumberg LH, Paweska JT. Ebola virus disease in West Africa - an unprecedented outbreak. S Afr Med J. 2014;104(8):555-6.  https://doi.org/10.7196/samj.8672  PMID: 25213844 
  4. World Health Organization (WHO). Statement on the 1st meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee on the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Geneva: WHO; 8 August 2014. Available from: http://who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2014/ebola-20140808/en/
  5. Médecins Sans Frontières. Sierra Leone: Ebola cases expected to increase; 11 July 2014. Available from: http://www.msf.org.uk/article/sierra-leone-ebola-cases-expected-increase
  6. Dowell SF, Mukunu R, Ksiazek TG, Khan AS, Rollin PE, Peters CJ. Transmission of Ebola hemorrhagic fever: a study of risk factors in family members, Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995. Commission de Lutte contre les Epidémies à Kikwit. J Infect Dis. 1999;179(s1) Suppl 1;S87-91.  https://doi.org/10.1086/514284  PMID: 9988169 
  7. Feldmann H, Geisbert TW. Ebola haemorrhagic fever. Lancet. 2011;377(9768):849-62.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60667-8  PMID: 21084112 
  8. Peters CJ, LeDuc JW. An introduction to Ebola: the virus and the disease. J Infect Dis. 1999;179(s1) Suppl 1;ix-xvi.  https://doi.org/10.1086/514322  PMID: 9988154 
  9. Ksiazek TG, Rollin PE, Williams AJ, Bressler DS, Martin ML, Swanepoel R, et al. Clinical virology of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF): virus, virus antigen, and IgG and IgM antibody findings among EHF patients in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995. J Infect Dis. 1999;179(s1) Suppl 1;S177-87.  https://doi.org/10.1086/514321  PMID: 9988182 
  10. Legrand J, Grais RF, Boelle PY, Valleron AJ, Flahault A. Understanding the dynamics of Ebola epidemics. Epidemiol Infect. 2007;135(4):610-21.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268806007217  PMID: 16999875 
  11. Chowell G, Hengartner NW, Castillo-Chavez C, Fenimore PW, Hyman JM. The basic reproductive number of Ebola and the effects of public health measures: the cases of Congo and Uganda. J Theor Biol. 2004;229(1):119-26.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.03.006  PMID: 15178190 
  12. Towner JS, Sealy TK, Ksiazek TG, Nichol ST. High-throughput molecular detection of hemorrhagic fever virus threats with applications for outbreak settings. J Infect Dis. 2007;196(s2) Suppl 2;S205-12.  https://doi.org/10.1086/520601  PMID: 17940951 
  13. Borchert M, Mutyaba I, Van Kerkhove MD, Lutwama J, Luwaga H, Bisoborwa G, et al. Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Masindi District, Uganda: outbreak description and lessons learned. BMC Infect Dis. 2011;11(1):357.  https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-11-357  PMID: 22204600 
  14. Roddy P, Colebunders R, Jeffs B, Palma PP, Van Herp M, Borchert M. Filovirus hemorrhagic fever outbreak case management: a review of current and future treatment options. J Infect Dis. 2011;204(Suppl 3):S791-5.  https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir297  PMID: 21987752 
  15. World Health Organization (WHO). Case definition recommendations for Ebola or Marburg Virus Diseases. Geneva: WHO; 9 August 2014. Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/ebola/ebola-case-definition-contact-en.pdf?ua=1
  16. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Ebola virus disease case definition for reporting in EU. Stockholm: ECDC. [Accessed 16 Dec 2015]. Available from: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/ebola_marburg_fevers/EVDcasedefinition/Pages/default.aspx
  17. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Case Definition for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Atlanta: CDC; 16 November 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/case-definition.html
  18. Fitzpatrick G, Vogt F, Moi Gbabai O, Black B, Santantonio M, Folkesson E, et al. Describing readmissions to an Ebola case management centre (CMC), Sierra Leone, 2014. Euro Surveill. 2014;19(40):20924.  https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES2014.19.40.20924  PMID: 25323075 
  19. Fisher-Hoch SP. Lessons from nosocomial viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks. Br Med Bull. 2005;73-74(1):123-37.  https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldh054  PMID: 16373655 
  20. World Health Organization (WHO). Interim Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Care of Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Filovirus Haemorrhagic Fever in Health-Care Settings, with Focus on Ebola. Geneva: WHO; December 2014. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/130596/1/WHO_HIS_SDS_2014.4_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1&ua=1
  21. Towner JS, Rollin PE, Bausch DG, Sanchez A, Crary SM, Vincent M, et al. Rapid diagnosis of Ebola hemorrhagic fever by reverse transcription-PCR in an outbreak setting and assessment of patient viral load as a predictor of outcome. J Virol. 2004;78(8):4330-41.  https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.78.8.4330-4341.2004  PMID: 15047846 
  22. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Guidance for Collection, Transport, and Submission of Specimens for Ebola Virus Testing in the United States. Atlanta: CDC; 30 January 2015. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/ebola-lab-guidance.pdf
  23. Drazen JM, Kanapathipillai R, Campion EW, Rubin EJ, Hammer SM, Morrissey S, et al. Ebola and quarantine. N Engl J Med. 2014;371(21):2029-30.  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe1413139  PMID: 25347231 
  24. Sterk E. Filovirus Haemorrhagic Fever Guideline. Médecins Sans Frontières; 2008. Available from: www.medbox.org/filovirus-haemorrhagic-fever-guideline/download.pdf
  25. Statistics Sierra Leone. 2004 Population And Housing Census – Final Results; 2004. Available from: http://www.sierra-leone.org/Census/ssl_final_results.pdf
  26. Gire SK, Goba A, Andersen KG, Sealfon RS, Park DJ, Kanneh L, et al. Genomic surveillance elucidates Ebola virus origin and transmission during the 2014 outbreak. Science. 2014;345(6202):1369-72.  https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1259657  PMID: 25214632 
  27. Washington Post. The birthplace of an outbreak; 28 August 2014. Available from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2014/08/28/ebola-outbreak/
  28. Wolz A. Face to face with Ebola--an emergency care center in Sierra Leone. N Engl J Med. 2014;371(12):1081-3.  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1410179  PMID: 25162580 
  29. de La Vega MA, Caleo G, Audet J, Qiu X, Kozak RA, Brooks JI, et al. Ebola viral load at diagnosis associates with patient outcome and outbreak evolution. J Clin Invest. 2015;125(12):4421-8.  https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI83162  PMID: 26551677 
  30. Altman DG, Bland JM. Statistics Notes: Diagnostic tests 2: Predictive values. BMJ. 1994;309(6947):102.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.309.6947.102  PMID: 8038641 
  31. Bah EI, Lamah MC, Fletcher T, Jacob ST, Brett-Major DM, Sall AA, et al. Clinical presentation of patients with Ebola virus disease in Conakry, Guinea. N Engl J Med. 2015;372(1):40-7.  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1411249  PMID: 25372658 
  32. Nyenswah T, Fahnbulleh M, Massaquoi M, Nagbe T, Bawo L, Falla JD, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ebola epidemic--Liberia, March-October 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63(46):1082-6. PMID: 25412068 
  33. Kelly JD. Make diagnostic centres a priority for Ebola crisis. Nature. 2014;513(7517):145.  https://doi.org/10.1038/513145a  PMID: 25209763 
  34. World Health Organization (WHO). Urgently needed: rapid, sensitive, safe and simple Ebola diagnostic tests. Geneva: WHO; 18 November 2014. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/18-november-2014-diagnostics/en/
  35. Broadhurst MJ, Kelly JD, Miller A, Semper A, Bailey D, Groppelli E, et al. ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test kit for point-of-care and laboratory-based testing for Ebola virus disease: a field validation study. Lancet. 2015;386(9996):867-74.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61042-X  PMID: 26119838 
  36. World Health Organization (WHO). Emergency Use Assessment and Listing for Ebola Virus Disease IVDs – Product: ReEBOV™ Antigen Rapid Test Kit EUAL. Geneva: WHO; June 2015. Available from: http://www.who.int/diagnostics_laboratory/procurement/150219_reebov_antigen_rapid_test_public_report.pdf?ua=1
  37. Trust W. New 15-minute test for Ebola to be trialled in Guinea; 28 November 2014. Available from: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2014/WTP058046.htm
  38. World Health Organization. Emergency Use Assessment and Listing for EVD IVDs – Product: Xpert® Ebola Assay; May 2015. Available from: http://www.who.int/medicines/ebola-treatment/150508FinalPublicReportExpertEbola_Cepheid.pdf
  39. Strecker T, Palyi B, Ellerbrok H, Jonckheere S, de Clerck H, Bore JA, et al. Field Evaluation of Capillary Blood Samples as a Collection Specimen for the Rapid Diagnosis of Ebola Virus Infection During an Outbreak Emergency. Clin Infect Dis. 2015;61(5):669-75.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/civ397  PMID: 25991465 
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.50.30097
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error