Manifestations of Hospitalization With Severe Monkeypox Described

THURSDAY, Oct. 27, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Most patients hospitalized with severe manifestations of monkeypox have HIV infection, according to research published in the Oct. 26 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Maureen J. Miller, M.D., from the CDC Monkeypox Emergency Response Team, and colleagues summarized findings from clinical consultations provided for 57 adult patients hospitalized with severe manifestations of monkeypox during Aug. 10 to Oct. 10, 2022.

The researchers found that 47 patients (82 percent) had HIV infection, of whom four (9 percent) were receiving antiretroviral therapy before diagnosis of monkeypox. Ninety-five percent of the patients were men and 68 percent were non-Hispanic Black. Overall, 17 and 12 patients received intensive care unit-level care and died, respectively (30 and 21 percent). In five of these deaths, monkeypox was a cause of death or a contributing factor; six deaths are under investigation to determine whether monkeypox was causal or contributory to death, and in one case, monkeypox was ruled out as a causal or contributory factor.

"The occurrence of severe manifestations of monkeypox in patients who were most commonly immunocompromised because of AIDS highlights the importance of engaging all persons with HIV in sustained care and ending the HIV epidemic," the authors write. "Clinicians should consider close clinical monitoring, early treatment with available medical countermeasures, and extension or escalation of therapy as indicated in patients with or at risk for severe monkeypox."

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