Clinical analysis of 45 patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and radiological features of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). METHODS: Analysis of the clinical presentation, chest radiographs, course of disease and features of severe pneumonia in 45 SARS patients diagnosed at our hospital in Beijing between April 5 - 20, 2003. Also included is a summation of the clinical features of SARS. RESULTS: (1) SARS appears to have high infectivity; (2) the most common symptom is fever; (3) the count of leukocyte is normal or decreased; (4) most patients (35/45, 77.8%) had experienced a 24-hour fever prior to the abnormal chest X-ray changes which showed progression of pulmonary infiltrates within 48 hours in 71.1% (32/45) of the patients and, (5) the percentage of patients who developed severe pneumonia (24.4%) is higher than those who developed typical pneumonia. CONCLUSION: SARS is a disease with high infectivity and has its own clinical and radiological features. Early recognition, prompt isolation, and appropriate therapy are the key to combat this infection.