Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Male , Scrub Typhus/pathology , Skin Ulcer/microbiology , Skin Ulcer/pathologyABSTRACT
Pathologic findings of scrub typhus have been characterized by vasculitis of the microvasculature of the involved organ resulting from a direct invasion by Orientia tsutsugamushi. We experienced a case of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with scrub typhus. The case was proven by eschar and high titer of serum IgM antibody (positive at 1:1280). Open lung biopsy showed diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) in the organizing stage without evidence of vasculitis. Immunofluorescent antibody staining and polymerase chain reaction for O. tsutsugamushi failed to demonstrate the organism in the lung tissue. The patient expired due to progressive respiratory failure despite doxycycline therapy. Immunologic mechanism, without direct invasion of the organism, may participate in the pathogenesis of ARDS associated with scrub typhus.
Subject(s)
Aged , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Acute Disease , Fatal Outcome , Pulmonary Alveoli/pathology , Pulmonary Alveoli/injuries , Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/physiopathology , Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/pathology , Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/immunology , Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/complications , Scrub Typhus/physiopathology , Scrub Typhus/pathology , Scrub Typhus/immunology , Scrub Typhus/complications , VasculitisABSTRACT
Scrub typhus, an acute febrile infectious disease caused by R. tsutsugamushi, has been reported from various parts of the far east and pacific rim of Asia including Korea. It is well known that all human pathogenic rickettsia share an affinity to endothelial cells of the small blood vessels and evoke vascular inflammation variably associated with a rash, microthrombi, and hemorrhage. We infected the ICR mice by inoculating sublethal doses of R. tsutsugamushi R19 strain intraperitoneally and observed the pathologic changes by time sequence. The histopathologic features of experimentally induced scrub typhus in the mice were generally nonspecific interstitial inflammations characterized by interstitial pneumonitis, periportal inflammation, multifocal hepatic necrosis, interstitial nephritis, sinusoidal engorgement, and lymphohistiocytic cell infiltration in lymph nodes and spleen. Contrary to the general features of other rickettsial diseases, the pathologic process of scrub typhus experimentally induced by R. tsutsugamushi R19 strain mainly involved the interstitial connective tissue but not the blood vessels.