Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025365 (Oral 068) | Published: 14 Aug 2025
Sunday Kyrian Chukwu1,2, Nneka Marian Chika-Igwenyi 2, Juliet Ijeoma Mmerem1, Chukwudi Umenzekwe3, Uche Sonny Unigwe1,2, Michael Onyebuchi Iroezindu1
1University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku-Ozalla Enugu, Nigeria, 2Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Nigeria, 3Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Sunday Kyrian Chukwu, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria. Email: chukwukyrian@gmail.com
Received: 20 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 14 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, Mortality, Nigeria, Organ failure, Outcome
©Sunday Kyrian Chukwu et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Sunday Kyrian Chukwu et al., Prevalence, types and determinants of organ failure among hospitalized adult Lassa Fever patients in a tertiary hospital in South-East Nigeria. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00068. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00068
Lassa fever (LF) is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) endemic to parts of West Africa. Multi-organ failure is a frequent cause of death in patients hospitalized with LF. This study determined the prevalence, types, and determinants of organ failure among adult patients with confirmed LF managed at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AEFUTHA), Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
This hospital-based, cross-sectional study enrolled adults (≥ 18 years) with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed LF from October 2022 to April 2023 at AEFUTHA. Data were collected using a modified Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) VHF case investigation form, including socio-demographics, medical history, and laboratory tests. Logistic regression models were used to assess the determinants of organ failure and in-hospital all-cause mortality.
Sixty adult patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 35.2 years (range: 18–62), and 73.3% (44) were males. Organ failure occurred in 50% (30) of cases, with acute kidney injury, AKI (33.3%), central nervous system dysfunction (25%), and liver failure (20%) being most frequent. Multi-organ failure was seen in 33.3% (20) of participants. In-hospital mortality was recorded in 25% (15) of participants. Duration of hospital stay was comparable between patients with organ failure (10 days, IQR=15.00) and those without organ failure (10.5 days, IQR=6.00), p= 0.35. Elevated urea levels (AOR 1.44, 95% C.I.: 1.04 – 2.05) and GCS <13 (AOR: 0.23, 95% C.I.: 0.06 – 0.81) predicted organ failure. In-hospital mortality was independently associated with respiratory failure (AOR 8.88, 95%CI: 1.77 – 44.41) and AKI (AOR 20.00, 95%CI:4.09 – 97.81).
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