Clinical Diagnosis of Acute Noma: Essential Infection Markers and Clinical Presentations

In clinical settings, understanding the markers and clinical signs of infection is critical for timely diagnosis and treatment. However, a point-of-care diagnostic test is lacking for noma, a debilitating orofacial infectious disease. This retrospective study reviewed electronic medical records (EMRs) and paper medical records (PMRs) of noma patients from Facing Africa (235 EMRs), Yekatit 12 Hospital (68 PMRs), and Project Harar (33 PMRs) in Ethiopia to identify essential infection markers and clinical presentations of acute noma. The review identified seven acute noma patients aged 4-9 years. The patients presented with facial edema, pain, anorexia, ecchymosis, excessive salivation, and drooling, as well as specific symptoms such as visual disturbances, high fever, foul odor, halitosis, and local tenderness. Laboratory findings included elevated white blood cell counts (13,500-14,500 cells/mcL), C-reactive protein levels (107-148 mg/L), and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (65-90 mm/hour). At >85 ng/mL, procalcitonin levels were particularly high. Accurate diagnosis of noma requires a comprehensive approach that includes thorough clinical examination, appropriate disease stage classification, medical history review, and laboratory testing. The study highlights the critical infection markers and clinical presentations associated with acute noma that may aid in early diagnosis of the disease. Further research with a much larger number of participants is needed. However, given the difficulty in identifying acute noma cases due to the rapid progression and very high mortality of the disease and the challenge of accessing acute noma cases owing to various socioeconomic barriers, the results of this small study are still relevant.