Clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe scrub typhus in pediatric and elderly patients

by Xiu-Gang Guan, Yue-Hong Wei, Bao-Gui Jiang, Shi-Xia Zhou, An-Ran Zhang, Qing-Bin Lu, Zi-Wei Zhou, Jin-Jin Chen, Hai-Yang Zhang, Yang Ji, Yang Yang, Li-Qun Fang, Hao Li, Zhi-Cong Yang, Wei Liu BackgroundScrub typhus (ST) is a life-threatening infectious disease if appropriate treatment is unavailable. Large discrepancy of clinical severity of ST patients was reported among age groups, and the underlying risk factors for severe disease are unclear. MethodsClinical and epidemiological data of ST patients were collected in 55 surveillance hospitals located in Guangzhou City, China, from 2012 to 2018. Severe prognosis and related factors were determined and compared between pediatric and elderly patients. ResultsA total of 2,074 ST patients including 209 pediatric patients and 1,865 elderly patients were included, with a comparable disease severity rate of 11.0% (95% CI 7.1% –16.1%) and 10.3% (95% CI 9.0%–11.8%). Different frequencies of clinical characteristics including lymphadenopathy, skin rash, enlarged tonsils, etc. were observed between pediatric and elderly patients. Presence of peripheral edema and decreased hemoglobin were the most important predictors of severe illness in pediatric patients with adjusted ORs by 38.99 (9.96–152.67, p
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research