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Published on: July 15, 2019
Risk factors for critical disease and death from hand, foot and mouth disease
Yilin He1, Jianguo Yang, Guang Zeng
1From the *Taizhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Province, Taizhou; †Chinese Field Epidemiology Training Program, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; ‡U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; and §Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Glucocorticoids may worsen severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), while andrographolides show protective effects. Early treatment with andrographolides could be beneficial for HFMD patients.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Virology
- Clinical Pharmacology
Background:
- Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) presents a significant public health concern in China.
- High mortality and morbidity rates are observed in critical HFMD cases.
- The underlying causes of severe and fatal HFMD remain largely undetermined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between drug use and the development of critical illness and death in HFMD patients.
- To identify potential therapeutic interventions for severe HFMD.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study design was employed.
- The study assessed the impact of specific drug treatments on HFMD outcomes.
- Data analysis focused on comparing outcomes between treated and untreated patient groups.
Main Results:
- Glucocorticoid treatment was linked to an increased incidence of severe HFMD.
- Andrographolides demonstrated a protective effect against severe HFMD.
- The protective effect of andrographolides was observed when administered within 48 hours of symptom onset or prior to critical diagnosis.
Conclusions:
- Glucocorticoids are not recommended for treating mild HFMD due to potential adverse effects.
- Andrographolides show promise for HFMD treatment and warrant further clinical investigation.
- Clinical trials are recommended to evaluate andrographolides for enterovirus 71 infections.
Background:
There has been a high mortality and morbidity rate of critical and fatal patients from hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in China in recent. Causes for development of critical and fatal disease remain unclear.
Methods:
We performed a case-control study to assess the association between use of drugs and development of critical disease and death from HFMD.
Results:
We found that glucocorticoids treatment was associated with a greater incidence of severe HFMD, whereas andrographolides treatment was associated with a protective effect when they are used for treatment within 48 hours after onset or before being diagnosed as critical.
Conclusions:
We recommend that glucocorticoids should not be used for mild HFMD and andrographolides should undergo clinical trials for treatment of enterovirus 71 infections.
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