Chikungunya Encephalitis: an Inconsistently Reported Headache and Cause of Death in Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions

Risk factors for mortality in patients with chikungunya: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Chikungunya fever is a debilitating arthritic disease that can lead to atypical severe complications and sometimes be fatal. The risk factors for fatal outcomes of chikungunya fever have not been thoroughly studied. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify mortality risk factors in patients with chikungunya. These findings will aid clinicians in targeting high-risk groups with severe chikungunya for timely interventions, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to identify mortality risk factors in patients with chikungunya.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis by searching the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, BVS, BDTD and OpenGrey databases to identify eligible observational studies on patients with chikungunya. These studies analysed mortality risk factors, providing adjusted risk measures along with their corresponding confidence intervals (CIs). We estimated the pooled weighted mean difference and 95% CIs using a random-effects model, and the methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS

Our search yielded a total of 334 records. After removing duplicates, we screened 275 records, reviewed 31 full articles and included seven studies in the systematic review and four in the meta-analysis, with a total of 220,215 patients and 908 fatal cases. Diabetes Mellitus (OR = 2.86, 95% CI 1.75-4.69), hypertension (OR = 3.10, 95% CI 2.02-4.77), age ≥ 60 years (OR = 19.49, 95% CI 1.98-191.88), chronic kidney disease (OR = 5.81, 95% CI 1.30-25.99), male sex (OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.71-2.51) and vomiting (OR = 2.18, 95% CI 1.75-2.73) are significantly and positively associated with mortality in chikungunya.

CONCLUSION

Elderly men with chronic diseases have a higher risk of death from chikungunya; therefore, they deserve more careful evaluation.

Chikungunya Immunopathology as It Presents in Different Organ Systems

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is currently an urgent public health problem as high morbidity from the virus leaves populations with negative physical, social, and economic impacts. CHIKV has the potential to affect every organ of an individual, leaving patients with lifelong impairments which negatively affect their quality of life. In this review, we show the importance of CHIKV in research and public health by demonstrating the immunopathology of CHIKV as it presents in different organ systems. Papers used in this review were found on PubMed, using “chikungunya and [relevant organ system]”. There is a significant inflammatory response during CHIKV infection which affects several organ systems, such as the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, and joints, and the immune response to CHIKV in each organ system is unique. Whilst there is clinical evidence to suggest that serious complications can occur, there is ultimately a lack of understanding of how CHIKV can affect different organ systems. It is important for clinicians to understand the risks to their patients.