Case history #1
A 35-year-old man is brought to the Ebola screening center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with a 3-day history of diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. He reports that he attended the funeral of a family member who died from Ebola disease 2 weeks ago. He developed dysphagia and hiccups 24 hours ago, but had been eating normally until then. He has no symptoms of bleeding. On exam, he is found to have mild conjunctival injection, a faint maculopapular rash over his trunk, mild epigastric tenderness, and hepatomegaly. His vital signs on admission are a temperature of 101.5°F (38.3°C), heart rate 100 bpm, blood pressure 115/62 mmHg, respiratory rate 25 breaths per minute, and oxygen saturation 99%.
Other presentations
People who eventually die tend to develop clinical signs early on in the infection, with death (due to shock and multi-organ failure) typically occurring between days 6 and 16 of infection.[4]Leroy EM, Gonzalez JP, Baize S. Ebola and Marburg haemorrhagic fever viruses: major scientific advances, but a relatively minor public health threat for Africa. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2011 Jul;17(7):964-76.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2011.03535.x/full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21722250?tool=bestpractice.com
[13]McElroy AK, Erickson BR, Flietstra TD, et al. Ebola hemorrhagic fever: novel biomarker correlates of clinical outcome. J Infect Dis. 2014 Aug 15;210(4):558-66.
https://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/210/4/558.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24526742?tool=bestpractice.com
[14]Mahanty S, Bray M. Pathogenesis of filoviral haemorrhagic fevers. Lancet Infect Dis. 2004 Aug;4(8):487-98.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(04)01103-X/fulltext
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15288821?tool=bestpractice.com
[15]Yan T, Mu J, Qin E, et al. Clinical characteristics of 154 patients suspected of having Ebola disease in the Ebola holding centre of Jui government hospital in Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Eur J Microbiol Infect Dis. 2015 Oct;34(10):2089-95.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26223324?tool=bestpractice.com
Bleeding manifestations (e.g., epistaxis, bleeding gums, hemoptysis, easy bruising, conjunctival bleeding, hematuria, oozing from injection or venipuncture sites) were present in 30% to 36% of infected patients in previous outbreaks; however, they were only reported in 5% to 18% of patients in the 2014 outbreak.[8]Barrette RW, Metwally SA, Rowland JM, et al. Discovery of swine as a host for the Reston ebolavirus. Science. 2009 Jul 10;325(5937):204-6.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5937/204.full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19590002?tool=bestpractice.com
[16]Kortepeter MG, Bausch DG, Bray M. Basic clinical and laboratory features of filoviral hemorrhagic fever. J Infect Dis. 2011 Nov;204 Suppl 3:S810-6
https://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/204/suppl_3/S810.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21987756?tool=bestpractice.com
[17]Bwaka MA, Bonnet MJ, Calain P, et al. Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo: clinical observations in 103 patients. J Infect Dis. 1999 Feb;179 Suppl 1:S1-7.
https://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/179/Supplement_1/S1.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9988155?tool=bestpractice.com
[18]WHO Ebola Response Team. Ebola virus disease in West Africa: the first 9 months of the epidemic and forward projections. N Engl J Med. 2014 Oct 16;371(16):1481-95.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411100#t=article
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25244186?tool=bestpractice.com
[19]Dallatomasinas S, Crestani R, Squire JS, et al. Ebola outbreak in rural West Africa: epidemiology, clinical features and outcomes. Trop Med Int Health. 2015 Apr;20(4):448-54.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25565430?tool=bestpractice.com
Massive bleeding is usually only observed in fatal cases, and typically occurs in the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., bloody diarrhea, melena).[16]Kortepeter MG, Bausch DG, Bray M. Basic clinical and laboratory features of filoviral hemorrhagic fever. J Infect Dis. 2011 Nov;204 Suppl 3:S810-6
https://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/204/suppl_3/S810.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21987756?tool=bestpractice.com
[20]Bah EI, Lamah MC, Fletcher T, et al. Clinical presentation of patients with Ebola virus disease in Conakry, Guinea. N Engl J Med. 2015 Jan 1;372(1):40-7.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411249#t=article
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25372658?tool=bestpractice.com
[21]Chertow DS, Kleine C, Edwards JK, et al. Ebola virus disease in West Africa - clinical manifestations and management. N Engl J Med. 2014 Nov 27;371(22):2054-7.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1413084
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25372854?tool=bestpractice.com
[22]Schieffelin JS, Shaffer JG, Goba A, et al; KGH Lassa Fever Program; Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium; WHO Clinical Response Team. Clinical illness and outcomes in patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone. N Engl J Med. 2014 Nov 27;371(22):2092-100.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411680#t=article
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25353969?tool=bestpractice.com
Internal bleeding may be missed if there are no external signs.
Other signs that indicate severe or advanced infection include hiccups, hypotension, tachycardia, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, confusion, and seizures.
Up to half of patients develop a maculopapular rash, which may become purpuric or petechial in patients with coagulopathy.[16]Kortepeter MG, Bausch DG, Bray M. Basic clinical and laboratory features of filoviral hemorrhagic fever. J Infect Dis. 2011 Nov;204 Suppl 3:S810-6
https://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/204/suppl_3/S810.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21987756?tool=bestpractice.com
[23]Nkoghe D, Leroy EM, Toung-Mve M, et al. Cutaneous manifestations of filovirus infections. Int J Dermatol. 2012 Sep;51(9):1037-43.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22909355?tool=bestpractice.com