Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state
Background: Acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) is a common cause for which the patients seek health care in India. It is region specific and has similar clinical presentation, with varied etiologies. Due to this it posses challenge to the diagnosis, treatment and public health. Majority of pa...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BKL Walawalkar Rural Medical College & Hospital
2016-08-01
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| Series: | Walawalkar International Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.wimjournal.com/html/journal/images/3aa2.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818251279470690304 |
|---|---|
| author | Patil S. N Korochikar S. P. |
| author_facet | Patil S. N Korochikar S. P. |
| author_sort | Patil S. N |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background:
Acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) is a
common cause for which the patients seek
health care in India. It is region specific and
has similar clinical presentation, with varied
etiologies. Due to this it posses challenge to
the diagnosis, treatment and public health.
Majority of patients present with nondescript
symptoms. Scrub typhus, Malaria, Enteric
Fever, Dengue, Leptospirosis, Chikungunya,
Spotted fever, Rickettsiosis, Hantavirus, Q
fever, Brucellosis, Influenza and other
bacterial infections are some of the common
etiologies of AUF. The prevalence of local
AUF etiologies helps to prioritize differential
diagnosis and guide the treatment. The study
aimed to find out the predominant AUF
etiologies in the rural Konkan area of
Maharashtra state in India.
Materials and Methods:
This prospective observational study
was conducted at a tertiary care hospital on the samples received from District hospitals and
Primary health centers from Sindhudurg
District of Maharashtra state for the duration
of October 2012 to January 2014. Patients
with age 5years and with classical symptoms
of febrile illness were included in the study.
About 500 blood samples received were
investigated for Malaria, Bacterial culture
sensitivity, Leptospira culture, ELISA for
scrub typhus, Brucella, Dengue and
Leptospira and further evaluated for
commonest region specific AUF etiology.
Results:
The study included 500 blood samples
obtained from patients presenting with
classical symptoms of AUF. Samples received
from males showed highest number of positive
cases amounting for 82.47% with majority of
cases (83%) cases in middle age group. The
sero-positivity of samples accounted for
42.8%. Brucella was the most common cause
of AUF (28.50%) followed by Leptospira
(27.10%) and Scrub typhus (21.49%).
Interestingly there were no positive cases of malaria and only 11.21% samples positive for
Dengue which are considered as most
common AUF etiologies and treated
accordingly.
Conclusion:
AUF is the most common clinical problem
worldwide with varied etiologies and non
descript symptoms. Understanding of
etiologies, their local prevalence and their
specific features will be helpful in treating
AUF cases during various outbreaks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T16:05:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1193328697cd4009889dd30d08b06e0c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2349-2910 2395-0684 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T16:05:45Z |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | BKL Walawalkar Rural Medical College & Hospital |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Walawalkar International Medical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-1193328697cd4009889dd30d08b06e0c2022-12-22T00:19:18ZengBKL Walawalkar Rural Medical College & HospitalWalawalkar International Medical Journal2349-29102395-06842016-08-01311018Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra statePatil S. N0Korochikar S. P.1Medical Director, B. K.L. Walawalkar Rural Medical College & Hospital, SawardeDepartment of Microbiology, B. K.L. Walawalkar Rural Medical College & Hospital, SawardeBackground: Acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) is a common cause for which the patients seek health care in India. It is region specific and has similar clinical presentation, with varied etiologies. Due to this it posses challenge to the diagnosis, treatment and public health. Majority of patients present with nondescript symptoms. Scrub typhus, Malaria, Enteric Fever, Dengue, Leptospirosis, Chikungunya, Spotted fever, Rickettsiosis, Hantavirus, Q fever, Brucellosis, Influenza and other bacterial infections are some of the common etiologies of AUF. The prevalence of local AUF etiologies helps to prioritize differential diagnosis and guide the treatment. The study aimed to find out the predominant AUF etiologies in the rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state in India. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital on the samples received from District hospitals and Primary health centers from Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra state for the duration of October 2012 to January 2014. Patients with age 5years and with classical symptoms of febrile illness were included in the study. About 500 blood samples received were investigated for Malaria, Bacterial culture sensitivity, Leptospira culture, ELISA for scrub typhus, Brucella, Dengue and Leptospira and further evaluated for commonest region specific AUF etiology. Results: The study included 500 blood samples obtained from patients presenting with classical symptoms of AUF. Samples received from males showed highest number of positive cases amounting for 82.47% with majority of cases (83%) cases in middle age group. The sero-positivity of samples accounted for 42.8%. Brucella was the most common cause of AUF (28.50%) followed by Leptospira (27.10%) and Scrub typhus (21.49%). Interestingly there were no positive cases of malaria and only 11.21% samples positive for Dengue which are considered as most common AUF etiologies and treated accordingly. Conclusion: AUF is the most common clinical problem worldwide with varied etiologies and non descript symptoms. Understanding of etiologies, their local prevalence and their specific features will be helpful in treating AUF cases during various outbreaks.http://www.wimjournal.com/html/journal/images/3aa2.pdfAcute undifferentiated febrileillnessdengue feveretiologyscrub typhus |
| spellingShingle | Patil S. N Korochikar S. P. Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state Walawalkar International Medical Journal Acute undifferentiated febrileillness dengue fever etiology scrub typhus |
| title | Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state |
| title_full | Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state |
| title_fullStr | Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state |
| title_full_unstemmed | Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state |
| title_short | Study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural Konkan area of Maharashtra state |
| title_sort | study of acute undifferentiated fever cases and their etiologies in rural konkan area of maharashtra state |
| topic | Acute undifferentiated febrileillness dengue fever etiology scrub typhus |
| url | http://www.wimjournal.com/html/journal/images/3aa2.pdf |
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