Tick-Borne Illness for Emergency Medicine Providers

AbstractPurpose of ReviewTicks are the most important vectors of human diseases after mosquitoes. Emergency physicians throughout the USA can be expected to encounter Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and other disorders based upon geographic location.Recent FindingsThe number of identifiable disorders transmitted by these arthropods has increased in recent years. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome has only been described within the past decade, and the new millennium has seen over 10 new species of rickettsial disease discovered.SummaryTicks transmit more pathogenic species than any other group of blood-feeding arthropods. This review provides an update on the diagnosis and management of the diseases most likely to be encountered in clinical practice.
Source: Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research