Long-term follow-up of patients from the 1989 Q fever outbreak: no evidence of excess cardiac disease in those with fatigue

Ayres, Jonathan Geoffrey; Wildman, Martin J; Groves, Jay; Ment, Jerome; Smith, E.G.; Beattie, J M

doi:10.1093/qjmed/95.8.539

Cited by 18 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…There have been few reports on this subject, but a questionnaire survey of 108 patients who had had acute Q fever infection 10 years earlier showed that 70 (64.8%) presented with fatigue, and 14 (19.4%) met the diagnostic criteria for CFS (17). The presence of antibodies to C. burnetii in patients who met the CFS criteria suggested the involvement of C. burnetii in CFS (18). In this study, half of the 8 patients diagnosed with CFS were PCR-positive for C. burnetii DNA or positive for IgM and IgG antibodies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Antibiotics: Pilot Study Assessing the Involvement of Coxiella burnetii Infection

et al. 2005

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Objective To examine whether Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) is involved in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), we administered tetracycline antibiotics to subjects with CFS, and followed changes in clinical symptoms, PCR findings, and C. burnetii antibody titers.Patients and Methods The subjects were 8 patients with CFS and 213 with nonspecific complaints such as chronic fatigue and low-grade fever for several months or longer but not meeting the diagnostic criteria for CFS. All were examined for C. burnetii infection by nested PCR and the indirect immunofluorescence test (IF).Results Four CFS patients (the CFS group) and 54 controls [the post-Q fever fatigue syndrome (QFS) group] positive for C. burnetii were treated mainly with minocycline or doxycycline (100 mg/day) for 3 months. After treatment, all 58 patients tested negative for C. burnetii infection. In the CFS group, no significant difference was noted between the mean pre-and post-treatment temperatures or headache scores. Similarly, there was no significant improvement in performance status (PS) scores. In the QFS group, however, mean temperatures and headache scores were significantly decreased after treatment (p<0.001). PS scores were also improved.Conclusion These results suggest the possibility of direct involvement of C. burnetii in the pathological state of CFS to be low, despite the C. burnetii infection rate being high in CFS patients. This is a pilot study and further larger investigations are necessary to confirm our preliminary results.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Antibiotics: Pilot Study Assessing the Involvement of Coxiella burnetii Infection

et al. 2005

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“…The reported chronic fatigue syndrome associated with Q fever appears not to be associated with cardiac disease. [11]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of association between serological evidence of past Coxiella burnetii infection and incident ischaemic heart disease: nested case-control study

et al. 2005

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Background: Coxiella burnetii causes the common worldwide zoonotic infection, Q fever. It has been previously suggested that patients who had recovered from acute Q fever (whether symptomatic or otherwise) may be at increased risk of ischaemic heart disease. We undertook this study to determine if past infection with Coxiella burnetii, the aetiological agent of Q fever, is a risk factor for the subsequent development of ischaemic heart disease.

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“…First, it has been possible to confirm the presence of infection in patients with CFS patients who present to the clinic many months after the onset of their illnesses (Chia and Chia, 2003). Second, outbreaks of CFS have been documented which have been shown by laboratory investigation to be caused by outbreaks of particular infectious agents, for example, with C. burnetii and enteroviruses (Ayres et al, 2002;Chia, 2005). Third, when a cohort of patients suffering from acute infection with a particular infectious agent are followed in time, a subset of these have been shown to develop CFS with an onset contemporaneous with the onset of the particular microbial infection.…”

Section: Infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Devanur

Kerr

2006

Journal of Clinical Virology

131

101

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Long-term follow-up of patients from the 1989 Q fever outbreak: no evidence of excess cardiac disease in those with fatigue

Abstract: These findings do not support the existence of a sub-clinical cardiomyopathy in the patients in this cohort who suffer from fatigue after acute Q fever, although endocarditis can occur after acute infection.

Cited by 18 publications

References 24 publications

Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Antibiotics: Pilot Study Assessing the Involvement of Coxiella burnetii Infection

Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Antibiotics: Pilot Study Assessing the Involvement of Coxiella burnetii Infection

Lack of association between serological evidence of past Coxiella burnetii infection and incident ischaemic heart disease: nested case-control study

Chronic fatigue syndrome

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