Virulence Factors for Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, Denmark

摘要

We present an analysis of strain and patient factorsassociated with the development of bloody diarrhea andhemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) among Shiga toxin–pro-ducing Escherichia coli (STEC) patients registered inDenmark in a 6-year period. Of 343 STEC patients, bloodydiarrhea developed in 36.4 and HUS in 6.1. In a multi-variate logistic regression model, risk factors for bloodydiarrhea were the eae and stx2genes, O groups O157 andO103, and increasing age. Risk factors for HUS were pres-ence of the stx2(odds ratio OR 18.9) and eae (OR unde-fined) genes, being a child, and having bloody diarrhea. Ogroup O157, although associated with HUS in a univariateanalysis (OR 4.0), was not associated in the multivariateanalysis (OR 1.1). This finding indicates that, rather thanthe O group, the combined presence of the eae and stx2genes is an important predictor of HUS