Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border
Introduction: Scrub typhus is endemic in rural Southeast Asia. The district of Umphang in northwestern Thailand is a prototype environment for this disease. We report the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients diagnosed with scrub typhus in this area. Methodology: Patients diagnosed wi...
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The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
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| Online Access: | https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/8912 |
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| author | Tobias Brummaier Chatporn Kittitrakul Vorada Choovichian Saranath Lawpoolsri Chayadol Namaik-larp Yupaporn Wattanagoon |
| author_facet | Tobias Brummaier Chatporn Kittitrakul Vorada Choovichian Saranath Lawpoolsri Chayadol Namaik-larp Yupaporn Wattanagoon |
| author_sort | Tobias Brummaier |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Introduction: Scrub typhus is endemic in rural Southeast Asia. The district of Umphang in northwestern Thailand is a prototype environment for this disease. We report the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients diagnosed with scrub typhus in this area.
Methodology: Patients diagnosed with scrub typhus between 2011 and 2014 were analyzed. Diagnosis was based on clinical symptoms in conjunction with a positive rapid test or a pathognomonic eschar lesion.
Results: A total of 857 patients were included, of which 488 were adults and 369 were children. Most patients (728; 84.9%) were included via a positive serology on rapid test, 86 patients (10.0%) had eschar only, and 43 patients (5.0%) had both sero-confirmation and presence of eschar. The most common symptom was fever (93.8%), followed by headache (48.1%) and cough (33.1%). Eschars were reported in 129 patients, with a significantly higher percentage in children (p < 0.001), and a different anatomical distribution was found when adults and children were compared. Common complications were elevated transaminases, acute kidney injury, and pneumonia. Most patients recovered from the disease.
Conclusions: Scrub typhus in Umphang district is common. Patients can present with a variety of clinical symptoms, regardless of the presence of fever. Standard treatment led to a favorable outcome in most patients.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a1b2e377f42644fd8ebb11438d915ded |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1972-2680 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Infection in Developing Countries |
| spelling | doaj-art-a1b2e377f42644fd8ebb11438d915ded2025-08-20T03:52:42ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802017-06-01110510.3855/jidc.8912Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar borderTobias Brummaier0Chatporn Kittitrakul1Vorada Choovichian2Saranath Lawpoolsri3Chayadol Namaik-larp4Yupaporn Wattanagoon5Mahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandMahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandMahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandMahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandUmphang Hospital, Umphang, ThailandMahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand Introduction: Scrub typhus is endemic in rural Southeast Asia. The district of Umphang in northwestern Thailand is a prototype environment for this disease. We report the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients diagnosed with scrub typhus in this area. Methodology: Patients diagnosed with scrub typhus between 2011 and 2014 were analyzed. Diagnosis was based on clinical symptoms in conjunction with a positive rapid test or a pathognomonic eschar lesion. Results: A total of 857 patients were included, of which 488 were adults and 369 were children. Most patients (728; 84.9%) were included via a positive serology on rapid test, 86 patients (10.0%) had eschar only, and 43 patients (5.0%) had both sero-confirmation and presence of eschar. The most common symptom was fever (93.8%), followed by headache (48.1%) and cough (33.1%). Eschars were reported in 129 patients, with a significantly higher percentage in children (p < 0.001), and a different anatomical distribution was found when adults and children were compared. Common complications were elevated transaminases, acute kidney injury, and pneumonia. Most patients recovered from the disease. Conclusions: Scrub typhus in Umphang district is common. Patients can present with a variety of clinical symptoms, regardless of the presence of fever. Standard treatment led to a favorable outcome in most patients. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/8912scrub typhusScrub TyphusescharEscharresource-limitedResource-limited |
| spellingShingle | Tobias Brummaier Chatporn Kittitrakul Vorada Choovichian Saranath Lawpoolsri Chayadol Namaik-larp Yupaporn Wattanagoon Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border Journal of Infection in Developing Countries scrub typhus Scrub Typhus eschar Eschar resource-limited Resource-limited |
| title | Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border |
| title_full | Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border |
| title_fullStr | Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border |
| title_short | Clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the Thailand-Myanmar border |
| title_sort | clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of scrub typhus in a rural health care facility on the thailand myanmar border |
| topic | scrub typhus Scrub Typhus eschar Eschar resource-limited Resource-limited |
| url | https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/8912 |
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