A study of clinical and laboratory profile of scrub typhus in children in a tertiary hospital in South India

Abstract

Background: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi. The present study was conducted to study the clinical features, laboratory profile, complications and response to therapy among children suffering from scrub typhus in a tertiary health care institution of Tamil Nadu, India.Methods: The study was conducted at Saveetha Medical College Hospital, Tamil Nadu, India. Duration of the study was from August to December, 2015 in the Department of Pediatrics. Children with clinically suspected Scrub typhus were subjected to detailed clinical examination and investigation. Diagnosis of scrub typhus was confirmed by IgM ELISA. Results: 34 patients were diagnosed as suffering from scrub typhus. Common symptoms noted were fever, headache, cough and cold, chills, rigor, myalgia and vomiting. The common complications noted were thrombocytopenia in 16 children (47%) and features of meningoencephalitis and hepatitis were present in 2 children (5.8%). Eschar was identified in 24 (70.5%) patients. Mixed infection was seen in 4 (11.7%) children who had concurrent culture positive Urinary Tract Infection. Conclusions: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness which requires high index of suspicion for early diagnosis, monitoring of the clinical and laboratory parameters and prompt treatment which may help in complete cure without further complications and morbidity.