The current definition of diphtheria used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based on both laboratory and clinical criteria.
Laboratory criteria
- Isolation of ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' from a clinical specimen, or
- Histopathologic diagnosis of diphtheria
Clinical criteria
- Upper respiratory tract illness with sore throat
- high-grade fever, and
- An adherent pseudomembrane of the tonsil(s), pharynx, and/or nose.
Case classification
- Probable: a clinically compatible case that is not laboratory-confirmed and is not epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case
- Confirmed: a clinically compatible case that is either laboratory-confirmed or epidemiologically linked to a laboratory-confirmed case
Empirical treatment should generally be started in a patient in whom suspicion of diphtheria is high.
Further Reading
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