Clinicolaboratory profile of leptospirosis: Observations from a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is a neglected tropical disease caused by spirochete Leptospira interrogans. It is one of the notifiable diseases. It is under-reported and under-diagnosed in tropical countries, including India. AIM: The aim of this study is to compare the clinico-laboratory profile of leptospirosis patients with healthy individuals and survived with dead patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study carried out in people diagnosed with leptospirosis. All the clinical features and laboratory parameters were studied and analyzed as per the Student's t-test. RESULTS: A total of 467 patients were diagnosed with leptospirosis during the study period 2013–2018. Males were majority, and most of the patients belonged to the age group of 31–45 years. Seventy-two patients (15.41%) succumbed to leptospirosis. Fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice were common symptoms. Leptospirosis patients had significant anemia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, elevated liver, and renal parameters. Among the dead patients, significant neutrophilia, lymphocytopenia, hyperbilirubinemia, hyperuremia, and raised creatinine were observed compared with alive patients. CONCLUSION: Leptospirosis should be strongly suspected in male, working-age groups presenting with fever and jaundice. Anemia, leukocytosis, thrombocytosis were hematological changes in leptospirosis patients. Hepatic and renal dysfunctions with neutrophilia are the risk factors with increased mortality in patients with leptospirosis.