The Center for Disease check and P...

The Center for Disease check and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidelines and recommendations upon diagnosing and treating patients with unadorned acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and onward preventing transmission of SARS in the health care setting. The guidelines and recommendations are available at wwwcdcgov/ ncidod/sars, and are evolving as more is learned about the syndrome and effective treatments.

SARS was defined in succession March 22, 2003, as a respiratory illness of unknown etiology with attack since February 1, 2003, with the following criteria:

* Measured temperature higher than 380[degrees]C (1004[degrees]F)

* single in kind or more clinical findings of respiratory illness (eg cough shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hypoxia, radiographic findings of pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome)

* Travel within 10 days of charge of symptoms to an area with suspected or documented community transmission of SARS (Toronto, Canada; Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Guangdong province, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Singapore), excluding areas with secondary cases limited to health care workers or direct household contacts. Or,

* shut contact within 10 days of charge of symptoms with either a somebody with a respiratory illness and travel to a SARS area, or a body under investigation or suspected of having SARS. shut up contact is defined as having cared for, having lived with, or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and/or material part fluids of a patient suspected of having SARS.

Suspected cases with either radiographic evidence of pneumonia or respiratory distress syndrome or evidence of unexplained respiratory distress syndrome by dint of autopsy, are designated "probable" cases by the agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) case definition.

The incubation period for SARS is typically sum of two units to seven days; however, isolated reports have moveed an incubation period as extended as 10 days. The illness usually begins with a febrile affection Other signs and symptoms include chills, headache, general feeling of discomfort, and material part aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms at the onset

As of April 16 the CDC commends patients with SARS receive the same treatment that would be used for any patient with serious community-acquired atypical pneumonia of unknown cause.

Several treatment regimens have been used for patients with SARS, if it were not that there is insufficient information at this time to determine if they have had a beneficial result Reported therapeutic regimens have included antibiotics to presumptively treat known bacterial agents of atypical pneumonia. Therapy also has included antiviral agents in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as oseltamivir or ribavirin. Steroids also have been administered orally or intravenously to patients in combination with ribavirin and other antimicrobials.

The CDC has sequenc the genome for the coronavirus believed to be responsible for the global epidemic of SARS, and ground that the SARS coronavirus is a previously unrecognized coronavirus. This data will have an impact onward efforts to develop new diagnostic exhibitions antiviral agents, and vaccines. However, the treatment recommendations have not been changed. Various antiviral remedys are being tested for their effectiveness against SARS.

Additional information about SARS also can be place on the WHO Web site at www.who.int/csr/sars/en/.

A patient information handout forward SARS written for parents is available at www.familydoctor.org. The handout addresses risk factors and commonly asked questions.

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group