An assessment of World Health Organization criteria for severe acute respiratory syndrome in patients with cancer

Gu, Jin; Wu, Aiwen; Li, Jiyou; Zhang, Xiaopeng; Fang, Jian; Li, Ming; Yao, Yunfeng; Ke, Yang; Gu, Jiang; Chen, Mingzhe; You, Weicheng

BACKGROUND: The differential diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in patients with cancer can be challenging. Although diagnostic criteria for SARS have been issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), simple adoption of the established criteria may lead to overdiagnosis in patients with cancer or to an increase in the risk of spreading SARS within cancer hospitals. METHODS: The authors report their experience with the exclusion and quarantine of patients with cancer during the peak of the SARS epidemic in Beijing, China. The patients included 4 males and 7 females with a median age of 66 years (range, 39–73 years). RESULTS: All 11 patients met the WHO diagnostic criteria for probable SARS. Among those 11 patients with probable SARS, only 1 had confirmed SARS; for the other 10 patients, the possibility of SARS infection was ruled out. CONCLUSIONS: Special attention must be paid to patients with cancer who have symptoms similar to those seen in SARS. Although the WHO diagnostic criteria for SARS should be widely accepted, they are not definite or practical in certain populations. Cancer 2004;100:1374–8. © 2004 American Cancer Society.