ABSTRACT
Background: Tetracyclines, in particular doxycycline, are recommended for the treatment of patients with acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI); however, real-world studies are scarce. Methods: This retrospective, multicenter, observational study reviewed electronic medical records (April 2018 to March 2021) of adult patients (outpatient and inpatient departments [OPD and IPD]) with AUFI, treated with doxycycline monotherapy (doxycycline group) or doxycycline in combination with other antimicrobials (combination therapy group), from 7 tertiary hospitals and clinics in India. Results: Overall, 473 patients were included; 73.8% and 26.2% patients were prescribed doxycycline alone or in combination with other antimicrobials, respectively. Defervescence was achieved in 65.6% and 57.3% patients, respectively at the second (8-14 days) follow-up visit. Clinical cure rate for symptomatic resolution varied between 89.6% and 100% in OPD settings. Time taken from treatment initiation to defervescence was 3.51 ± 3.16 days for the doxycycline group and 3.46 ± 3.07 days for the combination therapy group. Both groups showed improvements in body temperature in OPD settings (84.2% and 84.5%) as well as IPD settings (97.4% and 94.1%). Adverse events in OPD patients in both groups were nausea (7.8% and 8.7%), anorexia (1.6% and 33.0%) and dyspepsia (1.6% and 67.9%). Conclusion: Doxycycline appears to be a promising candidate for treating patients with AUFI due to its demonstrated real-world effectiveness and safety profile.
ABSTRACT
Background: Acute febrile illness is very common among patients seeking hospital care in tropical country like India. This study was conducted to evaluate etiology and clinical profile of Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness (AUFI) in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: This study was conducted in 175 patients with acute febrile illness who were admitted in the medical wards and ICU from January 2018 to June 2019 in a tertiary care hospital. Clinical examination and investigations like complete hemogram, liver function test, renal function test, smear for malarial parasite, widal test, urine analysis blood and urine culture, antibody titters for dengue, Leptospirosis and imaging were done.Results: Out of 175, 94 (54%) were males and 81 (46%) were females. The commonest etiology was dengue (19%) followed by enteric fever (18%), scrub typhus (16%), malaria (14%), tuberculosis (6%) and leptospirosis (5%). 138 (79%) patients had less than 14 days of fever of which dengue was the most common and 37 (21%) patients had more than 14 days of fever with tuberculosis being predominate. Other common symptoms were chills/rigors, headache and myalgia seen in 77%, 71% and 42% respectively. Icterus was seen in malaria (42%) and leptospirosis (38%). Elevated transaminases levels were observed with dengue, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, enteric fever and malaria. ARDS was most common in scrub typhus.Conclusions: Among acute febrile illness, dengue and enteric fever were the most common in this study. A thorough and probing search for an eschar is very important in scrub typhus. The treating physician has to keep in mind the comprehensive list of differential diagnosis for patients with febrile illness and anticipating the complications.
ABSTRACT
Acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) constitutes the predominant cause of healthcare seeking in Odisha. This prospective study was conducted to analyse the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory profile of scrub typhus patients presenting with AUFI from January to December 2017. Four hundred and thirty-two samples were tested for dengue, malaria, scrub typhus and enteric fever. Scrub typhus was overall the most common cause of AUFI (26.3%, 114/432) followed by dengue (19.2%, 83/432). Eschar was seen in 6.1% of cases. Aetiologies of 38.6% of AUFI remained unidentified. In the present study, there was no mortality attributed to scrub typhus.
ABSTRACT
Acute febrile illness (AFI) is a common clinical problem, and can be due to various causes. AFI without localizing featuresacute undifferentiated febrile illness is a diagnostic challenge. Knowledge about common infections present in that particular area will give a clue to the probable etiology. But because of variety of causes and atypical presentations diagnosis of AFI remains to be a great challenge. In this review we are describing a stepwise approach for the diagnosis and management of AFI which will be useful for the practicing clinicians