Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever: Aid of Abdominal Ultrasonography in Prediction of Severity

Abstract Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a fatal viral infection that involves multiple organs, and endothelium. We described abdominal sonographic findings of the patients infected with the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in relation to the severity of the disease. This is a prospective study performed among hospitalized patients infected with CCHF between 2005 and 2011. A total of 210 hospitalized patients with confirmed CCHF infection were included in the study. The mean age was 47 and 49.5% of the patients were female. Patients were classified as mild, moderate, or severe disease according to their clinical and laboratory findings. The relationship between the clinical severity of CCHF and the abdominal sonographic findings was analyzed. Sonographic findings of abdomen included gallbladder wall thickening (GBWT) in 44 (21%), splenomegaly in 39 (19%), hepatomegaly in 52 (25%), decrease in echo of liver parenchyma in nine (4%), increase in echo liver parenchyma in 13 (6%), intra-...