Rajib Kumar Dey, Fernando Mosler, Rifau Adam, Isha Ali, Aishath Sausan, Zaidhoon Jaleel, Rashda Mahir, Izza Abdul Habeeb, Aishath Maeesha, Nihla Ali Rasheed, Aminath Aroosha, Wasin Matsee, Hisham Ahmed Imad
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Dengue and scrub typhus are common causes of acute undifferentiated febrile illness in the Maldives.
Methods: This retrospective study compared the clinical characteristics of 184 hospitalized adults diagnosed with dengue (n = 94) or scrub typhus (n = 90) at a national referral hospital in the Maldives. Clinical data were collected from 2013 to 2021 for scrub typhus and from 2018 to 2021 for dengue, identified using ICD-10 codes from both physical and electronic records. National dengue and scrub typhus data from 2015 to 2024 were obtained from the Health Protection Agency of the Maldives.
Results: Scrub typhus patients were generally older, with a median age of 42.5 years compared to 27 years in dengue, were more often locals, and tended to present later in the course of illness, on day 10 compared to day 4. Furthermore, scrub typhus patients experienced more complications, 23.9% compared to 3.2% in dengue, which resulted in longer hospital stays. An eschar was observed in 63.1% of scrub typhus cases, serving as a useful diagnostic clue. In contrast, dengue patients more often presented with chills, myalgia, arthralgia, bleeding, and thrombocytopenia. There were no fatalities in this cohort.
Conclusions: In acute undifferentiated febrile illness in the Maldives, certain clinical indicators, including eschar for scrub typhus and bleeding with severe thrombocytopenia can aid in bedside diagnosis. Identifying these features can help clinicians in resource-limited settings provide timely and appropriate care.
期刊介绍:
Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Publication Scope:
Publishes original papers, reviews, and consensus papers
Primary theme: infectious disease in the context of travel medicine
Focus Areas:
Epidemiology and surveillance of travel-related illness
Prevention and treatment of travel-associated infections
Malaria prevention and treatment
Travellers' diarrhoea
Infections associated with mass gatherings
Migration-related infections
Vaccines and vaccine-preventable disease
Global policy/regulations for disease prevention and control
Practical clinical issues for travel and tropical medicine practitioners
Coverage:
Addresses areas of controversy and debate in travel medicine
Aims to inform guidelines and policy pertinent to travel medicine and the prevention of infectious disease
Publication Features:
Offers a fast peer-review process
Provides early online publication of accepted manuscripts
Aims to publish cutting-edge papers