Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease (HFMD) Follow-up

Updated: Jun 07, 2022
  • Author: Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH; Chief Editor: Michael Stuart Bronze, MD  more...
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Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

Closely observe infants with HFMD for development of dehydration.

Clinical improvement is observed after approximately 3-5 days; cutaneous and mucosal lesions resolve in 7-10 days. The patient may continue to shed virus through the stool for weeks.

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Further Inpatient Care

Patients with CNS manifestations of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD; eg, encephalitis, aseptic meningitis) may require hospitalization.

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Complications

Rarely, aseptic meningitis and other neurological complications accompany HFMD. More commonly, oral ulcerations can interfere with fluid intake and cause dehydration, the most common complication of HFMD.

Rare case reports show spontaneous abortions associated with HFMD.

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Prognosis

The prognosis of HFMD is excellent. The vast majority of patients with this infection are expected to recover fully.  Age greater than 3 years, enterovirus 71 autonomic nervous system dysregulation, pulmonary edema/hemorrhage, C-reactive protein greater than 40 mg/L, and cardiac troponin more than 0.04 ng/ml were risk factors for fatality in a study from Guangzhou (Canton), China. [19]

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