Study of Ebola Virus Disease Survivors in Guinea

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of data regarding health consequences of Ebola virus disease among survivors.

Methods: We surveyed 105 Ebola virus disease survivors postdischarge from an Ebola treatment unit in Guinea using a standard data collection form. Patients rated recovery as the percentage of improvement in functional status, where 0% represents "unable to perform" and 100% represents "able to perform at prior level."

Results: The mean ± standard deviation time interval between hospital discharge and administration of questionnaire was 103.5 ± 47.9 days in 105 survivors. Anorexia was reported by 103 patients, with varying severity levels: mild (n = 33), moderate (n = 65), or severe (n = 5). Reported pain according to site was chest (30.7%), joint (86.7%), muscle (26.7%), and back (45.7%), among others. Recovery in functional status was graded as mild (10%-30%) (n = 2 [1.9%]), moderate (40%-70%) (n = 52 [50.0%]), and excellent (80%-100%) (n = 50 [48.1%]). Severity of arthralgia (R(2) = 0.09; P = .008) was directly associated with lower recovery in functional status in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: Ebola virus disease survivors frequently reported anorexia and arthralgia. Severity of arthralgia was related to lower functional recovery. There may be a role for focused screening and intervention for symptoms identified in this study of survivors.

Keywords: Ebola virus; Ebola virus disease; Guinea; arthralgia; survivors.