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warning that patients who appear asymptomatic may not yet be in the
clear. What's more, "we expect the majority of patients won't test positive" before they exhibit symptoms, says Tom Chiller, MD, MPH, medical epidemiologist with the CDC.
"This is a far-reaching catastrophe, and nobody yet fully understands
the ramifications," says William Landess, CRNA, MS, JD, the director
of anesthesia for Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, S.C. "It's fungal, and it's not contagious, so that's good. But fungal infections are
harder to treat and root out. We're literally shoving broad-spectrum
antifungals into patients' veins and it's a little scary because it may not
work."
Although time from injection to onset of symptoms appears to be
about 2 weeks, patients remain at "greatest risk" for 42 days, according to the CDC. It also recommends that patients past the 6-week
mark still be monitored for symptoms.
"We want to emphasize that we don't know what the longest will be,
so we don't quite know at this point how long people need to be vigilant for," says Benjamin Park, MD, medical officer for the CDC.
Essentially, says J. Todd Weber, MD, incident manager of the CDC's
investigation, "We're not out of the woods yet." OSM
E-mail swasek @outpatientsurg ery.net.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2012
