Mediterranean spotted fever: clinical and laboratory characteristics of 415 Sicilian children

نویسندگان

  • Claudia Colomba
  • Laura Saporito
  • Valentina Frasca Polara
  • Raffaella Rubino
  • Lucina Titone
چکیده

BACKGROUND Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is an acute febrile, zoonotic disease caused by Rickettsia conorii and transmitted to humans by the brown dogtick Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Nearly four hundred cases are reported every year (mainly from June to September) on the Italian island of Sicily. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with MSF and the efficacy of the drugs administered. METHODS Our study was carried out on 415 children with MSF, during the period January 1997-December 2004, at the "G. Di Cristina" Children's hospital in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. On admission patients' clinical history, physical and laboratory examination and indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) for Rickettsia conorii were performed. Diagnosis was considered confirmed if the patients had an MSF diagnostic score greater than or equal to 25 according to the Raoult's scoring system. All patients were treated with chloramphenicol or with macrolides (clarithromycin or azithromycin). RESULTS Fever, rash and tache noire were present in 386 (93%), 392 (94.5%) and 263 (63.4%) cases respectively. Eighteen (4.6%) children showed atypical exanthema. Chloramphenicol and newer macrolides all appeared to be effective and safe therapies. CONCLUSION Clinical features of 415 children with MSF were similar to those reported by other authors except for a lower incidence of headache, arthralgia and myalgia and a higher frequency of epato-splenomegaly. Concerning therapy, clarithromycin can be considered a valid alternative therapy to tetracyclines or chloramphenicol especially for children aged < eight years.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Familial Mediterranean Fever: Review of Literature and Report of Two Cases

Familial Mediterranean fever, an autosomal recessive disorder, is a member of the periodic fever syndromes, and considered to be the most common cause of recurrent febrile episodes in children. It is important to understand the disorder as familial Mediterranean fever falls on a spectrum of various presentations; the recurrent episodes of familial Mediterranean fever may be so severe that the q...

متن کامل

FMF Genotype-phenotype correlation in Iranian Azeri Turks: Association between M694V/R761H mutation and amyloidosis

Objective(s):Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an inherited autosomal recessive disorder, is frequently present among individuals of Mediterranean origin. Differences in the clinical manifestations of FMF between different ethnic groups have been documented. The aim of the present study was to determine the most common characteristics of FMF and the relationship between clinical findings and ...

متن کامل

Clarithromycin versus azithromycin in the treatment of Mediterranean spotted fever in children: a randomized controlled trial.

We conducted an open-label randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy and safety of clarithromycin (15/mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses for 7 days) with those of azithromycin (10 mg/kg/day in 1 dose for 3 days) in the treatment of children with Mediterranean spotted fever. Until now, there has not been a gold-standard therapy for this rickettsial disease in children. Eighty-seven children ...

متن کامل

Kinetics of antibody responses in Rickettsia africae and Rickettsia conorii infections.

African tick-bite fever, caused by Rickettsia africae, is the most common tick-borne rickettsiosis in sub-Saharan Africa. Mediterranean spotted fever due to Rickettsia conorii also occurs in the region but is more prevalent in Mediterranean countries. Using microimmunofluorescence, we compared the development of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM titers in 48 patients with African tick-bite fever a...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • BMC Infectious Diseases

دوره 6  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2006