Comparative Study of Confirmed versus Suspected Cases of Vibrio vulnificus Infection in Chaoshan District, Guangdong, China

Objective: To compare the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory data of patients with confirmed and suspected Vibrio vulnificus infection in Chaoshan District, Guangdong. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 25 confirmed cases and 23 suspected cases of V. vulnificus infection at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College from January 2014 to December 2025. A confirmed case was defined by the presence of a positive result from culture and/or mNGS and a suspected case by the experience of a clear marine trauma followed by rapidly progressive soft tissue manifestations, but without etiological confirmation of V. vulnificus infection after exclusion of other infectious etiologies. The epidemiological history, early clinical manifestations, routine blood parameters, and in-hospital outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results: The confirmed group had a greater severity of soft tissue infection (84.0% vs 26.0%, P < 0.01) and more involved sites (88.0% vs 47.8%, P < 0.01). The laboratory data indicated the confirmed group had more abnormalities in markers of tissue injury (creatinine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase), coagulation function (platelets, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio), liver function (aspartate transaminase, total bilirubin), renal function (serum creatinine), and lipid and nutritional markers (all P < 0.05). The confirmed group also had significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (32.0% vs 0%), multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (36.0% vs 0%), and surgical intervention (60.0% vs 30.4%), and a greater economic burden (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: There are significant differences in the early clinical manifestations, routine blood parameters, and in-hospital outcomes for patients with confirmed and suspected V. vulnificus infection.