Cause Of Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness Research Articles

A study on acute undifferentiated febrile illness in children (Age 2 Months to 18 Years)

: Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness (AUFI) is a common cause of patients seeking healthcare in India. Appropriate diagnosis is essential for proper management of children, since failure to identify the nature of the causative pathogen results in increased morbidity and mortality due to diseases either being untreated or treated with inappropriate antimicrobials, Also there is waste of medicines and increased resistance to antimicrobials, which has a major public health threat worldwide.: To study clinical profile of children admitted with AUFI and to find out common causes of AUFI in Children (2 months to 18 years of age) and their seasonal trends. : A prospective study was carried out over 200 children of age 2 months to 18 months admitted in Balchikitsalaya MBGH Hospital with Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness of less than 7 days duration over a period of 12 months from November 2021 to October 2022. : Majority of the patients were in the age group of 10-15 years (32.5%). Out of 200 AUFI patients, majority had undifferentiated illness (53%) followed by Malaria (16.5%), UTI (12.5%), Dengue(11%), Scrub Typhus(5%) and Enteric Fever(2.5%). Higher incidence of AUFI was seen from August to November. : More than 50% cases of Acute Febrile Illness were due to Undifferentiated Illnesses, hence it can be concluded that provided the cause of undifferentiated illness is found, the irrational use of antibiotics and antimalarial should be prevented.

Etiological characterization of acute undifferentiated febrile illness in Apartadó and Villeta municipalities, Colombia, during COVID-19 pandemic.

Acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) is one of the leading causes of illness in tropical regions. Although malaria is the most important cause, other pathogens such as Dengue (DENV), Leptospira and recently, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have gained importance. In Colombia, few studies aimed to identify the etiology of AUFI. Most of them performed in Apartadó and Villeta municipalities, identifying the active circulation of several pathogens. Thus, we conducted a cross-sectional study in these municipalities to characterize the etiologies of AUFI during COVID-19 pandemic. An active surveillance was conducted between September and December 2021 in local hospitals of Apartadó and Villeta municipalities. Febrile patients were enrolled after voluntarily agreeing to participate in the study. Ten different etiologies were evaluated through direct, serological, molecular and rapid diagnostic methods. In Apartadó a confirmed etiology was found in 60% of subjects, DENV (25%) being the most frequent, followed by leptospirosis (16.7%), malaria (10%), COVID-19 (8.3%), spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis (6.7%) and Chikungunya (1.7%). In Villeta, a specific etiology was confirmed in 55.4% of patients, of which SFG rickettsiosis (39.3%) was the most frequent, followed by leptospirosis (21.4%), DENV (3.6%) and malaria (1.8%). No cases due to Mayaro, Yellow Fever, Oropouche and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis viruses were detected. We confirm the relevance of dengue fever, leptospirosis, SFG rickettsiosis, COVID-19 and malaria as causes of AUFI in the municipality of Apartadó, and highlight the great importance of SFG rickettsiosis as the main cause of AUFI in the municipality of Villeta.

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Tropical Infectious Diseases: Focusing on Dengue and Malaria.

Acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) is the presenting symptom of various tropical and infectious diseases. Viral infection is generally the most common cause of AUFI, accounting for 8–11.8% of cases; thus, antibiotics might be unnecessary. Dengue and malaria are common tropical infectious diseases requiring effective supportive treatment and antimalarial agents, respectively. The uncertainty of early diagnosis results in widespread empirical antimicrobial treatment in high -income as well as in low-and middle-income countries. Although rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been shown to limit antibiotic prescriptions in dengue and malaria, we observed a wide range of antibiotic prescriptions for 13–92.7% of cases in previous literature, particularly in RDT-negative malaria cases. Given several RDT limitations, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) appears to be an effective strategy for controlling unnecessary antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevention. This program should be endorsed by a multidisciplinary team in tropical diseases to control collateral damage of inappropriate antimicrobial use. Empirical antibiotic treatment should be administered based on clinical judgement, microbiological evidence, and local epidemiological data. Rapid termination of antibiotic therapy, including disease control or elimination, is the mainstay of AMS in tropical diseases. Local and international sectors should implement an AMS programme to reduce AMR in the Tropics.

Scrub typhus: Clinical presentation and severity

Background: Scrub typhus is an acute zoonotic febrile illness caused by the obligate intracellular bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi. In the Indian subcontinent, there has been mounting evidence in the past few years, indicating that it is one of the most prevalent, yet underrecognized entity, probably as a result of its varied presentation, lack of awareness, and hence, a low index of suspicion among clinicians. Materials and Methods: This is a subgroup analysis involving patients diagnosed to have scrub typhus from a large prospective study on patients presenting with acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) done between October 2012 and September 2013. Results: A total of 452 patients met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final analysis. The mean age of the cohort was 42.7 (standard deviation [SD] 15.1) years and female predominance (266, [58.8%]) was noted. The mean duration of fever was 8.2 (SD 3.2) days. The most common clinical features were chills, generalized myalgia, and breathlessness. A characteristic eschar was noted in 262 (57.9%) patients. Overall, the most common comorbidities were diabetes mellitus, followed by hypertension. Majority of patients were started on doxycycline or azithromycin empirically on clinical suspicion. Among the total study population, 21 (4.6%) patients succumbed to the disease condition and the rest were discharged stable either from the outpatient department or ward. Conclusion: Scrub typhus is one of the most common causes of AUFI in our locality and comprises a third of these cases. The pathognomonic eschar which is present in almost two-third of patients offers a vital clue for the diagnosis of scrub typhus.

Etiologies of Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness in Bangkok, Thailand.

Acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) has been a diagnostic dilemma in the tropics. Without accurate point-of-care tests, information on local pathogens and clinical parameters is essential for presumptive diagnosis. A prospective hospital-based study was conducted at the Bangkok Hospital for Tropical Diseases from 2013 to 2015 to determine common etiologies of AUFI. A total of 397 adult AUFI cases, excluding malaria by blood smear, were enrolled. Rapid diagnostic tests for tropical infections were performed on admission, and acute and convalescent samples were tested to confirm the diagnosis. Etiologies could be identified in 271 (68.3%) cases. Dengue was the most common cause, with 157 cases (39.6%), followed by murine typhus (20 cases; 5.0%), leptospirosis (16 cases; 4.0%), influenza (14 cases; 3.5%), and bacteremia (six cases; 1.5%). Concurrent infection by at least two pathogens was reported in 37 cases (9.3%). Furthermore, characteristics of dengue and bacterial infections (including leptospirosis and rickettsioses) were compared to facilitate dengue triage, initiate early antibiotic treatment, and minimize unnecessary use of antibiotics. In conclusion, dengue was the most common pathogen for AUFI in urban Thailand. However, murine typhus and leptospirosis were not uncommon. Empirical antibiotic treatment using doxycycline or azithromycin might be more appropriate, but cost-benefit studies are required. Physicians should recognize common causes of AUFI in their localities and use clinical and laboratory clues for provisional diagnosis to provide appropriate treatment while awaiting laboratory confirmation.

Acute undifferentiated febrile illness in patients presenting to a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India: clinical spectrum and outcome

Background:Acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) may have similar clinical presentation, and the etiology is varied and region specific.Materials and Methods:This prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in South India. All adult patients presenting with AUFI of 3–14 days duration were evaluated for etiology, and the differences in presentation and outcome were analyzed.Results:The study cohort included 1258 patients. A microbiological cause was identified in 82.5% of our patients. Scrub typhus was the most common cause of AUFI (35.9%) followed by dengue (30.6%), malaria (10.4%), enteric fever (3.7%), and leptospirosis (0.6%). Both scrub typhus and dengue fever peaked during the monsoon season and the cooler months, whereas no seasonality was observed with enteric fever and malaria. The mean time to presentation was longer in enteric fever (9.9 [4.7] days) and scrub typhus (8.2 [3.2] days). Bleeding manifestations were seen in 7.7% of patients, mostly associated with dengue (14%), scrub typhus (4.2%), and malaria (4.6%). The requirement of supplemental oxygen, invasive ventilation, and inotropes was higher in scrub typhus, leptospirosis, and malaria. The overall mortality rate was 3.3% and was highest with scrub typhus (4.6%) followed by dengue fever (2.3%). Significant clinical predictors of scrub typhus were breathlessness (odds ratio [OR]: 4.96; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.38–7.3), total whole blood cell count >10,000 cells/mm3 (OR: 2.31; 95% CI: 1.64–3.24), serum albumin <3.5 g % (OR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.68–3.2). Overt bleeding manifestations (OR: 2.98; 95% CI: 1.84–4.84), and a platelet count of <150,000 cells/mm3 (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.47–2.98) were independent predictors of dengue fever.Conclusion:The similarity in clinical presentation and diversity of etiological agents demonstrates the complexity of diagnosis and treatment of AUFI in South India. The etiological profile will be of use in the development of rational guidelines for control and treatment of AUFI.

Prevalence and Clinical Differentiation of Dengue Fever in Children in Northern India

Although an increasing trend in outbreaks of dengue infection is seen in the northern Indian plains, the importance of dengue infection as a cause of acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) round the year is not known and the validity of clinical signs and simple laboratory parameters in differentiating dengue from other causes of AUFI has been sparsely reported. To study the prevalence of dengue infection as a cause of AUFI seen round the year and validity of clinical and simple laboratory features for its diagnosis. Consecutive children between 6 months and 12 years of age presenting to outpatients on 3 predecided weekdays with complaints of fever of 15 days or less duration and having no localizing signs of infection were enrolled over a 1-year period. Blood counts, liver function tests and ELISA test for dengue IgM were performed besides other investigations. Those testing positive for IgM were considered "probable dengue" (PD) while those with negative IgM tested after 5 days of illness were considered "non-dengue" (ND). Clinico-laboratory features were compared between PD and ND. A randomly selected subsample of IgM +ves was tested for dengue genome by real time PCR assay. Of 298 children enrolled over 1 year, 56 (18.8%) tested positive for dengue IgM and 132 were ND. Comparing PD and ND, age, duration of illness at presentation, rash, bleeding manifestations, vomiting, platelet count, liver transaminases, serum proteins, albumen and bilirubin were significant features on univariate analysis. On logistic regression younger age, rash and higher serum alanine transaminase (sALT) levels were the only significant independent predictors for PD. Taking cutoff of age as 60 months or less and sALT > 40 units, one or more of these features were seen in 50/56 PD cases (sensitivity 89.3%). All of these were present in only 1 of 132 ND cases (specificity 99.2%). Randomly selected 44 of the 56 IgM +ve patients were subjected to PCR assay, of which 15 were positive. Dengue transmission occurs round the year in this region. The cause of AUFI was definitely dengue in 15/298, i.e., 5% cases and likely to be dengue in another 13.8% cases. In children presenting to outpatients here with AUFI, young age, rash, and raised sALT are significant independent pointers to dengue. A combination of clinical and laboratory features including liver enzymes could be used to achieve high sensitivity and specificity. These results should be validated in a separate data set.