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A cross-sectional study to assess the long-term health status of patients with lower respiratory tract infections, including Q-fever.

Dam, A.S.G. van, Loenhout, J.A.F. van, Peters, J.B., Rietveld, A., Paget, W.J., Akkermans, R.P., Olde Loohuis, A., Hautvast, J.L.A., Velden, J. van der. A cross-sectional study to assess the long-term health status of patients with lower respiratory tract infections, including Q-fever. Epidemiology and Infection: 2015, 143(1), p. 48-54.
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Patients with a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) might be at risk for long-term impaired health status. We assessed whether LRTI patients without Q fever are equally at risk for developing long-term symptoms compared to LRTI patients with Q fever. The study was a cross-sectional cohort design. Long-term health status information of 50 Q fever-positive and 32 Q fever-negative LRTI patients was obtained. Health status was measured by the Nijmegen Clinical Screening Instrument. The most severely affected subdomains of the Q fever-positive group were ‘general quality of life’ (40%) and ‘fatigue’ (40%). The most severely affected subdomains of the Q fever-negative group were ‘fatigue’ (64%) and ‘subjective pulmonary symptoms’ (35%). Health status did not differ significantly between Q fever-positive LRTI patients and Q fever-negative LRTI patients for all subdomains, except for ‘subjective pulmonary symptoms’ (P=0·048). (aut. ref.)