scholarly journals Diagnostic tools used in the evaluation of acute febrile illness in South India: a scoping review

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divyalakshmi Bhaskaran ◽  
Sarabjit Singh Chadha ◽  
Sanjay Sarin ◽  
Rajashree Sen ◽  
Sonia Arafah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
South India ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness

Abstract Background Acute febrile illness (AFI) is characterized by malaise, myalgia and a raised temperature that is a nonspecific manifestation of infectious diseases in the tropics. The lack of appropriate diagnostics for the evaluation of AFI leads to increased morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings, specifically low-income countries like India. The review aimed to identify the number, type and quality of diagnostics used for AFI evaluation during passive case detection at health care centres in South India. Methods A scoping review of peer-reviewed English language original research articles published between 1946-July 2018 from four databases was undertaken to assess the type and number of diagnostics used in AFI evaluation in South India. Results were stratified according to types of pathogen-specific tests used in AFI management. Results The review included a total of 40 studies, all conducted in tertiary care centres (80% in private settings). The studies demonstrated the use of 5–22 tests per patient for the evaluation of AFI. Among 25 studies evaluating possible causes of AFI, 96% tested for malaria followed by 80% for dengue, 72% for scrub typhus, 68% for typhoid and 60% for leptospirosis identifying these as commonly suspected causes of AFI. 54% studies diagnosed malaria with smear microscopy while others diagnosed dengue, scrub typhus, typhoid and leptospirosis using antibody or antigen detection assays. 39% studies used the Weil-Felix test (WFT) for scrub typhus diagnosis and 82% studies used the Widal test for diagnosing typhoid. Conclusions The review demonstrated the use of five or more pathogen-specific tests in evaluating AFI as well as described the widespread use of suboptimal tests like the WFT and Widal in fever evaluation. It identified the need for the development of better-quality tests for aetiological diagnosis and improved standardised testing guidelines for AFI.

scholarly journals Differentiating Scrub Typhus, Dengue Fever and Typhoid Fever in Indian Children Presenting with Acute Febrile Illness

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Author(s):  
Saheli Misra Chatterjee ◽  
Suman Mondal ◽  
Kaushik Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Niloy Kumar Das
Keyword(s):  
Dengue Fever ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Indian Children ◽  
Diagnostic Dilemma ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio ◽  
Lymphocyte Ratio

Introduction: The disease spectrum of dengue, scrub typhus and typhoid presenting as acute febrile illness is often a diagnostic dilemma to the clinician. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical features and laboratory parameters of children suffering from typhoid, dengue and scrub typhus and use these parameters in early identification of scrub typhus before conclusion is made from serological diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective observational analytical study was conducted among children presenting with acute febrile illness in a tertiary care level hospital. Over the period of one year 113 cases were identified of which 39 were dengue, 44 were typhoid and 30 were scrub typhus. Results: The mean age of the children was 7.45 ± 2.98 years, median was eight with an interquartile range of six to ten years. The male to female ratio was 1.3:1. Symptoms of vomiting (61.54%), headache (46.15%) and hepatomegaly (47.37%) were significantly higher among children with dengue fever. A significantly higher number of children with scrub typhus fever had temperature above 40°C. The incidence of low haemoglobin, raised C reactive protein, raised ALT and low albumin levels were significantly higher in them. Children with acute febrile illness having temperature > 40°C, absolute neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio > 2 early in the illness were more likely to suffer from scrub typhus with relative probability ratio (RPR) of 25.68 and 10.57 respectively (p < 0.001). Children with WBC < 5000/mm3 were more likely to be suffering from dengue with RPR of 10.60 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Children with acute febrile illness with temperature > 40°C and absolute neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio > 2 early in the illness were more likely to be suffering from scrub typhus.

scholarly journals Evaluation of loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for detection of scrub typhus in patients with acute febrile illness presenting to a Tertiary Care Center in Puducherry, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. 082-086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Anitha Karthikeyan ◽  
Sugeerappa Laxmanappa Hoti ◽  
Reba Kanungo
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Test ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Lamp Assay ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Isothermal Amplification ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification ◽  
Igm Antibodies ◽  
Two Samples

Abstract PURPOSE: Scrub typhus an acute febrile illness has diverse clinical manifestations, which overlap with other febrile illnesses. Due to this reason, it is misdiagnosed, leading to inappropriate treatment, sometimes resulting in fatality. Thus, accurate diagnosis of scrub typhus is important for appropriate treatment. This study evaluated the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay as a diagnostic test for scrub typhus among patients with fever. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 50 cases of acute febrile illness clinically resembling scrub typhus, with or without an eschar, or cases of pyrexia of unknown origin were included in the study. Blood samples collected from these cases were subjected to detection of IgM antibodies to Orientia tsutsugamushi by ELISA, conventional groEL polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the LAMP assay. RESULTS: Twelve cases had fever for less than a week, and two had fever for more than 3 weeks. IgM antibodies to O. tsutsugamushi were detected in 37 out of 50 samples (74%). LAMP assay was positive in 33 samples (66%). groEL gene-based PCR detected 35 (70%) samples as positive. Two samples negative by LAMP assay were positive by this PCR. Twenty samples collected from patients with dengue, typhoid, and malaria tested by the LAMP assay were negative, indicating its good specificity. LAMP assay and the conventional groEL-based PCR could detect 72.7% and 74.3% of the samples, respectively before the 10th day after onset of fever, whereas IgM ELISA could detect only 40.5% of the 37 samples. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that LAMP assay could be a useful diagnostic test for detecting scrub typhus in the acute phase of the illness and a cheaper alternative to other molecular methods in resource poor settings.

scholarly journals Scrub typhus infection, not a benign disease: an experience from a tertiary care center in Northern India

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Jain ◽  
Nitya Nand ◽  
Kajaree Giri ◽  
Jaikrit Bhutani
Keyword(s):  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Invasive Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
North India ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Orientia Tsutsugamushi ◽  
Tertiary Care Centre ◽  
Function Tests

Introduction. Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. It is characterised by fever, rash, myalgia and diffuse lymphadenopathy. Most common complications are sepsis, shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), hepatitis, pre renal azotemia and multi organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Mortality rates range from 7-30% in untreated cases. Scrub typhus is endemic to a part of the world known as ‘the tsutsugamushi triangle’. River banks, grassy areas generally harbour scrub typhus infection; however, recently there has been an increase in prevalence of infection from dry regions like Haryana. Objective. To assess the clinical spectrum and complications of scrub typhus infection at a tertiary care centre in North India. Material and methods. An observational study was conducted on patients >14 years old with acute febrile illness >7 days duration, admitted indoor from emergency department, from July to November 2017. Suspected cases were tested for specific IgM antibodies against Orientia tsutsugamushi by ELISA. Results. Among the 230 patients, screened for scrub typhus infection, 39 (16.95%) came out to be positive. Most common patient complaints were fever followed by cough and breathlessness, myalgia, nausea, vomiting and behavioral abnormality. 15% of patients required inotropic support initially and 48% had oxygen saturation of less than 90% at the time of presentation. Pleural effusion and crepitations were present in 41% of patients. Most common biochemical alterations were: abnormal liver function tests (95%), followed by thrombocytopenia, anemia, abnormal renal function tests, and hyponatremia. 12 patients (30.7%) were shifted to intensive care unit, 8 of which (20.5%) needed invasive mechanical ventilation and 4 patients (10.3%) underwent hemodialysis. Various complications were noted in 89.7% of cases, the most common being ARDS followed by sepsis, acute kidney injury (AKI) and meningitis. The mortality rate in this study was 18%. Conclusions. This study emphasizes that scrub typhus infection is on a rampant resurgence and it is associated with significant complications. High degree of suspicion as well as development of effective measures to treat, control and prevent is critical to lower the disease burden.

scholarly journals Burden of scrub typhus among patients with acute febrile illness attending tertiary care hospital in Chitwan, Nepal

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e034727
Author(s):  
Sangita Thapa ◽  
Pradip Hamal ◽  
Navin Kumar Chaudhary ◽  
Lokendra Bahadur Sapkota ◽  
Jaya Prasad Singh
Keyword(s):  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
College Teaching ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Igm Elisa ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
And Control

ObjectivesScrub typhus is an emerging neglected tropical disease, reported from many parts of Asia including Nepal. This study aims to determine the seroepidemiology of scrub typhus among febrile patients attending Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital (CMC-TH), Bharatpur, Nepal.Study design and settingThis was a hospital laboratory-based prospective study conducted in CMC-TH (a 750-bed hospital) located in Bharatpur, Chitwan district of Nepal.ParticipantsA total of 1797 patients visiting CMC-TH with acute febrile illness (temperature more than 38°C) were enrolled in this study.MethodsA total of 1797 blood samples were collected from patients presenting with acute febrile illness. The samples were processed for detection of antibody for scrub typhus by ELISA for specific IgM antibody and Weil-Felix test.ResultsOut of 1797 serum sample of febrile patients, 524 (29.2%) were scrub typhus positive. Maximum seropositive cases were from Chitwan district, 271 (51.7%) with predominance among women, 314 (35.9%). Scrub typhus was common among age group 51–60 years (37.2%) and farmers, 182 (37.8%). Highest seropositivity was found in July, 60 (57.7%). Fever was common clinical symptom. Thrombocytopenia was seen in 386 (73.7%) and raised transaminase aspartate aminotransferase, 399 (76.1%) among seropositive cases. Weil-Felix test positive were 397 (22.1%) and IgM ELISA positive were 524 (29.2%). The correlation between IgM ELISA and Weil-Felix test showed statistically significant association (r=0.319, p<0.001).ConclusionHigh prevalence of scrub typhus implies that patients with acute febrile illness should be investigated for scrub typhus with high priority. There is utmost need of reliable diagnostic facilities at all levels of healthcare system in Nepal. Infection with scrub typhus was found high and this calls for an urgent need to introduce vaccine against scrub typhus. More sustain and vigorous awareness programmes need to be promoted for early diagnosis, treatment and control.

scholarly journals A study on clinical profile of acute undifferentiated febrile illness in a tertiary care hospital

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 404
Author(s):  
Mariraj I. ◽  
Mohammed Adil ◽  
Ramkumar M. ◽  
Jagadeesan M. ◽  
Prasanna Karthik S. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enteric Fever ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Clinical Profile ◽  
Malarial Parasite ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Function Test

Background: Acute febrile illness is very common among patients seeking hospital care in tropical country like India. This study was conducted to evaluate etiology and clinical profile of Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness (AUFI) in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: This study was conducted in 175 patients with acute febrile illness who were admitted in the medical wards and ICU from January 2018 to June 2019 in a tertiary care hospital. Clinical examination and investigations like complete hemogram, liver function test, renal function test, smear for malarial parasite, widal test, urine analysis blood and urine culture, antibody titters for dengue, Leptospirosis and imaging were done.Results: Out of 175, 94 (54%) were males and 81 (46%) were females. The commonest etiology was dengue (19%) followed by enteric fever (18%), scrub typhus (16%), malaria (14%), tuberculosis (6%) and leptospirosis (5%). 138 (79%) patients had less than 14 days of fever of which dengue was the most common and 37 (21%) patients had more than 14 days of fever with tuberculosis being predominate. Other common symptoms were chills/rigors, headache and myalgia seen in 77%, 71% and 42% respectively. Icterus was seen in malaria (42%) and leptospirosis (38%). Elevated transaminases levels were observed with dengue, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, enteric fever and malaria. ARDS was most common in scrub typhus.Conclusions: Among acute febrile illness, dengue and enteric fever were the most common in this study. A thorough and probing search for an eschar is very important in scrub typhus. The treating physician has to keep in mind the comprehensive list of differential diagnosis for patients with febrile illness and anticipating the complications.

scholarly journals Scrub Typhus and Molecular Characterization of Orientia tsutsugamushi from Central Nepal

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 422
Author(s):  
Rajendra Gautam ◽  
Keshab Parajuli ◽  
Mythili Tadepalli ◽  
Stephen Graves ◽  
John Stenos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Orientia Tsutsugamushi ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Central Nepal ◽  
Vector Borne

Scrub typhus is a vector-borne, acute febrile illness caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Scrub typhus continues to be an important but neglected tropical disease in Nepal. Information on this pathogen in Nepal is limited to serological surveys with little information available on molecular methods to detect O. tsutsugamushi. Limited information exists on the genetic diversity of this pathogen. A total of 282 blood samples were obtained from patients with suspected scrub typhus from central Nepal and 84 (30%) were positive for O. tsutsugamushi by 16S rRNA qPCR. Positive samples were further subjected to 56 kDa and 47 kDa molecular typing and molecularly compared to other O. tsutsugamushi strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Nepalese O. tsutsugamushi strains largely cluster together and cluster away from other O. tsutsugamushi strains from Asia and elsewhere. One exception was the sample of Nepal_1, with its partial 56 kDa sequence clustering more closely with non-Nepalese O. tsutsugamushi 56 kDa sequences, potentially indicating that homologous recombination may influence the genetic diversity of strains in this region. Knowledge on the circulating strains in Nepal is important to the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines to support public health measures to control scrub typhus in this country.

scholarly journals Scrub typhus: a hospital-based study in the northern districts of West Bengal, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2403
Author(s):  
Sanjay Kumar Mallick ◽  
Santanu Hazra ◽  
Tanmoy Nandi ◽  
Arunabha Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Case Fatality Rate ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Fatality Rate ◽  
Serological Tests

Background: Scrub typhus caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is a mite-borne zoonotic acute febrile illness. Geographically, it is confined to the Asia-Pacific region and important re-emerging infection in India. Clinical diagnosis of scrub typhus from other acute febrile illness is very difficult due to nonspecific symptoms and the relative absence of eschar in the Indian population. Case fatality rate varies from 30-70% depending on the clinical suspicion, delay in diagnosis and treatment. Antibody-based serological tests are the mainstay of diagnosis. IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against O. tsutsugamushi is helpful for the diagnosis of scrub typhus within the first week of illness.Methods: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of the disease in Northern districts of West Bengal, India using IgM ELISA.Results: Out of 577 serum samples tested 10.05% were positive for IgM antibodies. Majority of cases were below 40 years of age with higher prevalence in female patients. The disease showed a seasonal trend with a peak during the monsoon and later months. The case fatality rate among ELISA positive cases was 32.76%.Conclusions: Significant seropositivity against scrub typhus among cases of acute febrile illness with relatively higher mortality indicates that scrub typhus should be included in the differential diagnosis and confirmed by IgM ELISA.

scholarly journals Outcome of Acute Burn Injuries in a Tertiary Care Centre of Kathmandu Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-36
Author(s):  
Manish Devkota ◽  
Samit Sharma ◽  
Sangam Rayamajhi ◽  
Jayan M Shrestha ◽  
Ishwar Lohani
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Surgical Intervention ◽  
Burn Injury ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Total Body Surface Area ◽  
Burn Injuries ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Female Population ◽  
Partial Thickness Burn ◽  
Flame Burn

Introduction Burn injuries are associated with higher morbidity and mortality especially in middle and low-income countries. The objective of the study is to assess the outcome of acute burn injuries in a tertiary care center of Kathmandu, Nepal. MethodsThis is a descriptive cross-sectional study of the clinical data of acute burn patients admitted from January 2016-December 2018. ResultsOut of 124 patients with burn injuries, there were more females (n=65, 52.4 %) than males (n=59, 47.6%). Flame burn was the most common mode of injury (n=71,57.3 %) followed by scald (n=22,17.7 %). Thirty-eight (30.6%) patients arrived to hospital on the same day of injury. The average time required to reach our hospital was 24 hours. The most frequently involved site was lower extremities (n=40, 32.26%) followed by upper extremities (n=33, 26.62%). Total body surface area (TBSA) involved in the burn injury ranges from 10% to 50% with a median of 15%. Hospital stay was 14 to 58 days with a median of 17 days. Partial thickness burn was seen in 114 (91.94%) patients whereas 10 (8.06%) patients had full thickness burn. Surgical intervention was needed in 71 (57.26%) patients. Among 71 patients, 12 patients underwent surgery twice. Fifty-two (41.94%) patients were managed conservatively. The mortality rate was 4.03%. ConclusionAdult female population is at high risk for burn injuries mostly due to flame burn. Delay in reaching care has also contributed for poor outcome of burn injuries. Majority of burn injury patients needed surgical intervention and hence improvement in surgical aspects can lead to better outcome of burn injuries.Keywords:

scholarly journals Diagnostic evaluation of IgM ELISA and IgM Immunofluorescence assay for the diagnosis of Acute Scrub Typhus in central Nepal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajendra Gautam ◽  
Keshab Parajuli ◽  
Tshokey Tshokey ◽  
John Stenos ◽  
Jeevan Bahadur Sherchand
Keyword(s):  
Likelihood Ratio ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Immunofluorescence Assay ◽  
Acute Febrile Illness ◽  
Central Nepal ◽  
Igm Elisa ◽  
Typhus Fever

Abstract Introduction Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium,Orientia tsutsugamushi. Given their affordability and ease of use, antibody based diagnostic assays can be important diagnostic tools for early detection of scrub typhus fever in resource poor countries like Nepal. Immunochromatography (ICT) and IgM ELISA are two of the routinely employed antibody based assays for diagnosis of Scrub typhus fever in Nepal, although the recommended gold standard diagnostic test is IgM Immunofluorescence assay (IFA). This study evaluated the InBios Scrub Typhus Detect™ Immunoglobulin M (IgM) ELISA and IgM Immunofluorescence assays in single serum sample at the time of admission. Methodology Study participants (1585 suspected cases), were enrolled based on acute febrile illness with suspected scrub typhus cases in central Nepal from April 2017 to March 2018. Blood sample was collected from the suspected patients of scrub typhus, presenting with acute febrile illness. IgM antibody to Orientia tsusugamushi was detected by using Scrub Typhus Detect™ Kit (In Bios International, USA) and an in-house IgM IFA (Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Geelong, Australia. The IFA assay was performed with the Gilliam, Karp, Kato strains and O. chuto antigens following the ARRL protocol. Result Statistical analysis of ELISA IgM results when compared to reference test, IgM IFA results demonstrated the following characteristics, sensitivity 84.0% (95%CI: 79.73%-87.68%), specificity 94.82% (95% CI: 93.43%-95.99%), positive likelihood ratio 16.21% (95% CI: 12.71%-20.67%), negative likelihood ratio 0.17% (95% CI: 0.13-0.21%), disease prevalence 22.08% (95% CI: 20.06%-24.21%), positive predictive value 82.12% (95% CI: 78.28-85.42%) and negative predictive value 95.44% (95% CI: 94.27%-96.38%) respectively. Conclusion The study indicated that the IgM ELISA has the sensitivity 84.0% (95% CI: 79.73%-87.68%) and specificity 94.82% (95% CI: 93.43%-95.99%). Although IgM IFA is considered the gold standard test for the diagnosis of scrub typhus cases, it is relatively expensive, requires trained personal and a microscope with fluorescence filters. Scrub typhus IgM ELISA with appropriate OD cut–off values may be the best alternative test and possible viable option for resource limited endemic countries like Nepal.

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