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Scrub typhus is a common zoonotic disease with high case fatality rate. The clinical presentation of this disease may vary from acute febrile illness, thrombocytopenia, gastrointestinal manifestations, coagulopathy to neurological manifestations. The common neurological manifestations are meningitis and meningoencephalitis, whereas subdural hemorrhage, cerebrovascular accident, i.e., intracerebral hemorrhage, infarct, subarachnoid hemorrhage, etc. are among rare neurological presentations. Scrub typhus-induced neurological disease should be investigated to provide a timely and appropriate diagnosis and to reduce the mortality in complicated scrub typhus infection. Here we report a case of scrub typhus complicated with subdural hemorrhage admitted in our hospital.
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Introduction: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Leptospira interrogans and has been reported from various countries worldwide. As very few studies were conducted on leptospirosis from north India, this study was conducted to know the status of this disease in this region. This retrospective hospital Material & Methods: based study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology of a tertiary care super specialty teaching institute from north India for a period of two consecutive years. Blood specimens from acute febrile illness cases were tested for presence of IgM antibodies against Leptospira interrogans by rapid card (Leptocheck from TULIP) testing and ELISA (Leptospira IgM ELISA from PanBio). Out of total 216 samples Results: collected and included in this study, 40 were found to be positive for presence of IgM antibodies against Leptospira interrogans. Seropositivity for leptospirosis was observed to be 19%. Maximum number of patients were from economically productive age groups, 31-40 years of age group followed by 21-30 and 41-50 years of age groups. CONCLUSION: Leptospirosis was found to be a major cause of acute febrile illness from north India. It is neglected and under reported from most of the regions of India due to lack of clinician's suspicion. More studies with more samples are required on leptospirosis from this region to reach on final conclusion.
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Scrub typhus is a form of bacterial Zoonosis caused by Orintia tsutsugamushi usually presents as Acute febrile illness with multiorgan involvement as a complication and is associated with significant mortality. This study aims to document the clinico-demographic profile, laboratory parameters and complication of Scrub Typhus in North Eastern Hilly State of Tripura with background of tropical climate. This retrospective study was conducted at Tripura Medical College, including 42 patients admitted with acute febrile illness between June, 2020 to December, 2021 during the era of COVID-19 Pandemic. The diagnosis was established by Rapid card test, Lateral Flow Metry Assay (LFA) followed by confirmation through IgM, ELISA test and pathognomic Eschar where feasible. The clinlical, demographic and laboratory profile were documented and analysed. Post rainy season and people from rural area with farming background were mostly affected population. Apart from Fever and Flu like symptom, respiratory and Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were more prominent feature. Pathognomic skin lesion eschar was found in maximum cases followed by shortness of breath, GI involvement and Renal failure. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), Hepatic encephalopathy and meningitis were the serious complications. While evaluating cases of acute febrile illness with multiorgan involvement clinician should have high index of suspicion for Scrub typhus specially resource poor areas of North Eastern (NE) state of India so that early detection and time bound intervention may help to reduce the mortality
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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.
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Scrub typhus (ST) is a consistently underreported disease. The disease is spreading to newer areas, and an understanding of disease epidemiology is needed in the local Indian and current context. This study describes the demographic characteristics, monthly distribution, clinical and laboratory presentations, and treatment outcome of the ST cases recently identified. Case sheets of 15 ST patients diagnosed from January 2019 to December 2020 were analyzed. The majority of the patients were male. Eighty percent of the patients were from rural or suburban areas. Higher admission was observed from September to December. Fever (100%), skin rash (73.3%), body ache (53.3%), and vomiting (53.3%) were the most common clinical features. The onset of fever till the appearance of skin rash was 3 ± 1.2 days. The mean day from onset of symptoms till diagnosis was 6.8 ± 3.9 days. Eschar was found in only two patients. Nine (60%) patients already had complications at the time of admission. Most patients presented a laboratory picture of thrombocytopenia, neutrophilic leukocytosis, and anemia. Complications such as septic shock, acute kidney injury, and hepatic involvement were observed. All responded to doxycycline within 48 h. No fatalities were observed. Early clinical suspicion of ST among those with high fever, skin rash and thrombocytopenia, and transaminitis showed positive clinical outcome.
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@#Limited information is available on human exposure to Bartonella infection, i.e., Bartonella henselae (causative agent of cat scratch disease) and Bartonella quintana (causative agent of trench fever) in West Malaysia. This study reports a review of serological findings obtained from patients attending to a teaching hospital in Klang Valley, Malaysia. An indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to determine IgG and IgM antibody titers against B. henselae and B. quintana. In a pilot study conducted between 2013-2015, IgG antibodies against Bartonella spp. (either B. quintana and B. henselae) were detected in 14 (36.8%) of 38 patients who were clinically suspected of rickettsial infections, while IgM antibody was detected in 4 (10.5%) patients. This has prompted us to investigate the serologic responses of patients who were clinically suspected of other febrile causes besides rickettsial infection. Of the 59 serum samples analysed in a follow-up investigation, Bartonella IgG antibodies were detected from 7 (11.9%) patients, of which 5 (27.8%) and 2 (18.2%) patients were clinically suspected of rickettsial infection (n=18) and dengue (n=11), respectively. None of the sera obtained from the leptospirosis (n=10), legionellosis (n=10) and mycoplasma infection (n=10) groups were seropositive to Bartonella spp. The review of Bartonella serological findings in this study highlights that Bartonella infection is not uncommon and should be considered as one of the causes for febrile illness in Malaysia.
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Aims:This study was conducted to determine the parallel and concurrent infection of dengue virus and Plasmodium falciparumamong patients with febrile illnesses attending Bingham University Health Centre, Karu, Nigeria. Study Design: The study was a cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study:Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Department of Microbiology, Nasarawa State University, Keffi and 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba-Lagos, between February and July 2017.Original Research Article Methodology: Blood samples were collected from 400 patients with febrile illnesses at the University Health Centre. The resulting sera was screened for dengue virus seromarkers (IgM, IgG and NS1) using Aria Dou dengue virus RDT kits (CTK Biotech, Inc, San Diego, USA) while malaria parasitemia was detected by Giemsa stained thick and thin film microscopy. Data collected were analysed using Smith’s Statistical Package (version 2.8, California, USA) and Pvalue of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 400 patients screened, 12(3.0%) were positive for dengue virus, 20(5.0%) for malaria parasite while 10(2.5%) for dengue/malaria co-infection. Infection with dengue virus and malaria parasite was found to be higher among female subjects aged ≤30 years. However, age and gender were not significantly associated with both infections in this study (P> 0.05).Conclusion:Our findings confirmed the presence of dengue virus infection in the study area which probably may have been misdiagnosed and mistreated. Hence, differential diagnosis of febrile illnesses should not only be limited to malaria and typhoid as is always the case in our health care centres
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Background: Dengue is a major public health problem throughout subtropical and tropical regions. In more severe or complicated dengue, patients present with a severe febrile illness characterized by abnormalities of hemostasis and increased vascular permeability, which in some instances results in a hypovolemic shock. Dengue is endemic in more than 100 countries in tropical and subtropical regions with an estimated 390 million infections occurring worldwide, among which 96 million infections are clinically apparent. The objective of this study is to assess the usefulness of serum albumin as a prognostic factor in dengue.Method: This observational study enrolled 100 patients who were admitted in KIMS Hospital from June 2017 to June 2018 without any co morbidities as mentioned in the exclusion criteria. On day 4 of illness hemoglobin, packed cell volume, platelet and serum albumin were done, and the participants were classified into 3 groups based on clinical manifestationResults: In this study, hemoglobin was elevated on day 4 in group 3 when compared to other groups and it was statistically significant. Hemoconcentration and low platelet values were also seen in group 3 when compared to other groups showing statistical significance.Serum albumin was also low in group 3 when compared to other groups, which was strongly significant.Conclusion: Hence serum albumin can be used as a prognostic factor in dengue.
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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.
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Background: Patients presenting with acute undifferentiated febrile illness may have delay in diagnosis due to nonspecific symptoms and signs. Kidney injury in these patients can cause detrimental effect on their prognosis and hence early diagnosis is warranted.Methods: This is an observational prospective study conducted in the Department of Medicine at Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana for a period of one year from 1st November 2014 till 31st October 2015.Results: Among the 532 patients acute febrile illness included in the study, 437(82.1%) were diagnosed with dengue fever. A total of 190(35.7%) patients were diagnosed to have AKI. The incidence of AKI in specific diseases was found to be the highest in Malaria 8(61.5%) out of 13 patients). In AKI, majority of them were in the risk category with 97(51.0%). A total of 26(13.6%) patients with AKI required Hemodialysis. Among the 190 patients who had AKI 43(22.6%) died.Conclusions: Dengue was the most common acute febrile illness. Among the patients with acute kidney injury majority were in the risk category with 97(18.2%). 326(61.2%) patients were males with a male to female ratio was found to be 1.5: 1. Dengue with acute kidney injury had the most proportion of patients in the risk and injury category and malaria with acute kidney injury having the highest proportion in failure category. The highest incidence of patients with AKI requiring hemodialysis was seen in scrub typhus. Leptospirosis with AKI had the highest proportion of mortality. The failure category had the highest proportion of mortality.
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Background: Scrub typhus is a documented disease in Himachal Pradesh, but there have been few clinico-epidemiological studies in this area. The present study is done with IgM ELISA as a diagnostic test which has higher sensitivity and specificity as most of the previous studies had used Weil Felix test as a diagnostic test. Methodology: This was a prospective observational study. All the patients more than 18 years of age with positive IgM ELISA for scrub typhus with/without eschar were included. The clinical profile was observed. IgM scrub typhus was done by ELISA. Results: Total of 39 patients were observed between July 2016 to Dec 2016. Maximum patients were observed in August, September, and October. Fever with Headache was the most common presenting complaint. Eschar was present in 10 % patients. Complications were seen in 76.92 %. The mortality rate was 0 %. Conclusion: The varied presentations and high rate of complications require a high index of suspicion for Scrub Typhus. The general physicians should be sensitized for the early diagnosis and treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality.
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Background & objectives: In India, spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) are an underdiagnosed cause of acute febrile illness (AFI). The non-specific Weil-Felix test is the first diagnostic modality for the diagnosis of SFGR in many laboratories due to the lack of advanced diagnostic facilities in developing countries. The aim of this study was to detect SFGR using molecular methods in the patients, presenting with AFI in a tertiary care centre in north India. Methods: Consecutive patients (>14 yr of age) with AFI were enrolled over a six month period. Standard investigations for common pathogens causing AFI in India (malaria, dengue, scrub typhus, leptospirosis and enteric fever) were carried out. In patients who were negative for all of the above investigations, blood was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting outer membrane protein A (ompA) gene of Rickettsia. Results: Of the 51 patients with an undiagnosed aetiology, three were positive by ompA PCR. Two of the PCR products produced good sequences and BLAST identification confirmed them as Rickettsia conorii. The sequences of R. conorii reported from south India clustered with two previously reported novel rickettsial genotypes. The study sequences clustered in a group different from that of Rickettsia spp. of the south Indian sequences reported earlier. Interpretation & conclusions: This study showed the existence of R. conorii in north India. Testing for SFGR may be included in the diagnostic workup of AFI for better disease management.
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Objective: To determine the etiologies of tropical acute febrile illness (TAFI) in West Pahang, Malaysia and to investigate morbidity and mortality factors in relation to TAFI. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted between January and June 2016 in six district hospitals throughout the western part of Pahang State in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 336 patients answered a standardized questionnaire and blood samples were collected for laboratory confirmation of infectious etiology. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed to identify factors associated with TAFI. Results: A total of 336 patients were included. The patients were mainly Malays (70.2%), males (61.3%), aged (44.6±17.4) years, with more than half (58.9%) presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. The majority were diagnosed with dengue (35.7%) while malaria (4.5%) was the least frequent. The in-hospital mortality due to TAFI was 9.2%. Patients with meliodosis had five times higher mortality [Adjusted OR: 5.002, 95% CI: (1.233, 20.286)]. Patients with comorbidities such as cardiovascular symptoms (P <0.001) and renal replacement therapy initiation (P <0.001) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in all TAFI. Conclusions: The etiology of TAFI in the western Pahang includes dengue, leptospirosis, malaria and melioidosis, which carry the highest risk of in-hospital mortality. The presence of cardiovascular symptoms may be used to assess the disease severity in TAFI, but more studies are needed in the future.
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Objective: To determine the etiologies of tropical acute febrile illness (TAFI) in West Pahang, Malaysia and to investigate morbidity and mortality factors in relation to TAFI. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted between January and June 2016 in six district hospitals throughout the western part of Pahang State in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 336 patients answered a standardized questionnaire and blood samples were collected for laboratory confirmation of infectious etiology. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed to identify factors associated with TAFI. Results: A total of 336 patients were included. The patients were mainly Malays (70.2%), males (61.3%), aged (44.6±17.4) years, with more than half (58.9%) presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. The majority were diagnosed with dengue (35.7%) while malaria (4.5%) was the least frequent. The in-hospital mortality due to TAFI was 9.2%. Patients with meliodosis had five times higher mortality [Adjusted OR: 5.002, 95% CI: (1.233, 20.286)]. Patients with comorbidities such as cardiovascular symptoms (P <0.001) and renal replacement therapy initiation (P <0.001) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in all TAFI. Conclusions: The etiology of TAFI in the western Pahang includes dengue, leptospirosis, malaria and melioidosis, which carry the highest risk of in-hospital mortality. The presence of cardiovascular symptoms may be used to assess the disease severity in TAFI, but more studies are needed in the future.
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Background: Infection from scrub typhus has been documented in different areas of Nepal and Chitwan is one of the risk-prone areas. Objective: This study aimed to find out the prevalence of scrub typhus in patients suffering from an acute febrile illness (AFI) as well as their knowledge about it. Materials and Methods: Descriptive study was conducted in Chitwan Medical College (CMC), a tertiary care teaching hospital in Chitwan. A total of 301 patients with AFI admitted in different medical units and screened for scrub typhus by immunoglobulin M enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method were selected purposively as a study sample. Face to face interview, record review, and blood reports were used to collect the required information. Data were collected from May 1, 2018, to December 2018. Before data collection, ethical approval was obtained from CMC Institutional Review Committee. Obtained data were entered into IBM-SPSS version 20 for window and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The findings of the study revealed that 13.3% of patients with AFI were positive for scrub typhus. The most common symptoms among patients were fever (100%), headache (59.1%), vomiting (27.0%), and cough (26.7%). Out of 301 patients, only 70 (23.3%) had heard about scrub typhus. Among 70 patients, more than half 41 (58.6%) had a high level of knowledge on scrub typhus. On item wise knowledge, more than half of the patients knew that scrub typhus as infectious disease (52.9%), transmitted through the bite of mites (61.4%) but not transmitted through person to person (65.7%). However, only 38.6% knew that scrub typhus rapidly spread in the rainy season. Moreover, less than half of the patients knew that wearing closed footwear (41.4%), using insect repellents (48.6%), and avoiding traveling to mite infected areas (45.7%) are the preventive measures of scrub typhus. Conclusion: Our results highlight that scrub typhus infection is an important cause of AFI, and patients must be routinely screened for the proper diagnosis and timely treatment. Moreover, very few had heard about scrub typhus and its preventive measures, so awareness program on scrub typhus is needed for the risk groups to enhance their knowledge.
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Background: Children with fever comprise a major proportion of our practice in outpatient department of Paediatric. Among the fever cases Urinary tract infection is the third most common cause of febrile illness in children. The emphasis on identification of urinary tract infections in febrile children is minimal. Very often, children receive antibiotics empirically, without any adequate evaluation for urinary tract infection. The objective of our study is to determine the prevalence of urinary tract infection in all febrile children from 1months to 5 years of age.Methods: A prospective study was undertaken in the department of Pediatrics, Government medical college, Srikakulam. Urine was collected from enrolled febrile patients and sent for routine microscopic examination as well as for culture and sensitivity.Results: The study included 500 children. Females were 256(51.2%) and males were 244(48.8%). The total prevalence of UTI cases were 6%. The incidence in <1 year was 7.05%, 1-2 years was 5.97 % and >2 years was 5.35%. The prevalence of UTI was higher among females (7.68%) than males (4.68%). Apart from fever, the commonest symptoms were dysuria, abdominal pain, vomiting, chills and rigors and loss of appetite. Urine culture shows E. coli followed by Klebsiella were found to contribute the maximum number of cases.Conclusions: Possibility of Urinary Tract Infection must be considered in all febrile children and urine culture specimen must be collected as a part of diagnostic evaluation.
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Background: Febrile illness in elderly patients in hospitals is a challenge to the physician for diagnosis and treatment due to high morbidity as well as mortality and it increases if the febrile illness is prolonged. So proper evaluation and effective management is necessary for a better outcome. Keeping in mind the scarcity of studies in elderly febrile illness in India this study was taken up.Method: A prospective study was designed in medical ICU of S.C.B Medical college and Hospital, Cuttack Odisha, India. 50 patients were included in this study from July 2007 to December 2008. Institutional Ethics Committee cleared the study.Results: In 50 elderly (Age>60 yrs) patients of prolonged febrile illness, 36 (72%) were male and 14 (28%) were female. All had fever for >21 days. Pallor was the commonest sign (62%). 30 patients had infectious etiology, 15 had malignancies. Tuberculosis was the commonest infection (28%) comprising of 46.66% of infectious etiology with Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) in 20% and Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis (ETB) in 26.66%. Malignancies accounted for 30% of cases with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in 33.33% being the commonest amongst the malignancies. On follow up of 50 patients 21 (42%) got cured.Conclusion: Febrile illness in elderly needs carefully evaluation as infections account for most of the cases and Tuberculosis in our part of India as a major cause in these patients is treatable. Malignancies remain the second most common cause where timely intervention goes a long way in reducing morbidity and mortality.
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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.
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Scrub typhus is largely ignored in India particularly during outbreaks of viral fever. The disease course is often complicated leading to fatalities in the absence of treatment. However, if diagnosed early and a specific treatment is initiated, the cure rate is high. We report here five cases of scrub typhus to highlight the fact that high clinical suspicion for such a deadly disease is an absolute necessity.
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Objective: To investigate the distribution and clinical profile of scrub typhus infection amongchildren with acute febrile illness in Odisha. Methods: Children (<15 y) presenting with acutefever (>5 days) in 4 agro-climatic zones from June to November 2017 were evaluated.Patients were screened for malaria, leptospira, dengue, typhoid and scrub typhus. Scrubtyphus was confirmed by IgM ELISA and PCR. Results: Out of413 casesexamined, 48.7%were positive for scrub typhus, and 5.5% of them developed systemic complications. Escharwas found in 17.9% of cases. Five days treatment of Doxycycline and/or Azithromycin wasclinically effective against scrub typhus. Conclusion: Our study highlights that scrub typhusis one of the causes of high morbidity in children during rainy months in Odisha.