TY - JOUR

T1 - Characteristics of 86 individuals with mpox diagnosed at Copenhagen University Hospital

AU - von Schreeb, Sebastian

AU - Exsteen, Banoo Bakir

AU - Zangenberg, Mike

AU - Rasmussen, Morten

AU - Fromsgaard, Anders

AU - Kronborg, Gitte

AU - Hvidovre Infectious Diseases Group (HIDG)

N1 - Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the mpox (previously called monkeypox) outbreak in 2022, almost half of cases in Denmark have been diagnosed at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre Hospital. This article describes the patient cohort seen at the Department with a view to increasing knowledge of mpox among colleagues who are most likely to identify future cases.METHODS: A retrospective observational study reporting patient characteristics, coinfections, clinical presentation and diagnostic delay among mpox cases diagnosed at the department between 23 May 2022 and 8 February 2023. Furthermore, a case report of a patient hospitalised with severe rectal pain is presented to highlight anorectal symptoms.RESULTS: A total of 86 patients were diagnosed with mpox, all were men who have sex with men, with a median age of 39 years. Twenty-six patients (31%) took HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, and 20 patients (24%) were people living with HIV. All patients (100%) presented with lesions, most frequently on or around the genitals. Twenty-nine patients (35%) had anorectal discomfort or pain. Seven patients (10%) had chlamydia, 19 (26%) gonorrhoea and two (5%) syphilis. In 13 cases (15%), mpox was not suspected at the first medical consultation, mainly because symptoms were attributed to a gonorrhoeal coinfection. Five patients (6%) were hospitalised for a median of three days.CONCLUSION: As mpox may become endemic in Denmark, clinicians should remain aware of its symptoms and the risk of coinfection with sexually transmitted infections.FUNDING: None.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not relevant.

AB - INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the mpox (previously called monkeypox) outbreak in 2022, almost half of cases in Denmark have been diagnosed at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre Hospital. This article describes the patient cohort seen at the Department with a view to increasing knowledge of mpox among colleagues who are most likely to identify future cases.METHODS: A retrospective observational study reporting patient characteristics, coinfections, clinical presentation and diagnostic delay among mpox cases diagnosed at the department between 23 May 2022 and 8 February 2023. Furthermore, a case report of a patient hospitalised with severe rectal pain is presented to highlight anorectal symptoms.RESULTS: A total of 86 patients were diagnosed with mpox, all were men who have sex with men, with a median age of 39 years. Twenty-six patients (31%) took HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, and 20 patients (24%) were people living with HIV. All patients (100%) presented with lesions, most frequently on or around the genitals. Twenty-nine patients (35%) had anorectal discomfort or pain. Seven patients (10%) had chlamydia, 19 (26%) gonorrhoea and two (5%) syphilis. In 13 cases (15%), mpox was not suspected at the first medical consultation, mainly because symptoms were attributed to a gonorrhoeal coinfection. Five patients (6%) were hospitalised for a median of three days.CONCLUSION: As mpox may become endemic in Denmark, clinicians should remain aware of its symptoms and the risk of coinfection with sexually transmitted infections.FUNDING: None.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not relevant.

KW - Adult

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Coinfection

KW - Delayed Diagnosis

KW - HIV Infections

KW - Homosexuality, Male

KW - Hospitals, University

KW - Pain

KW - Sexual and Gender Minorities

KW - Monkeypox/diagnosis

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37125825

VL - 70

JO - Danish Medical Journal

JF - Danish Medical Journal

SN - 2245-1919

IS - 5

M1 - A09220544

ER -