Brain Death Secondary to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Encephalitis
Joint Authors
Lutfi, Riad
Rhodes, Steven D.
Teagarden, Alicia M.
Graner, Brian
John, Chandy C.
Source
Issue
Vol. 2020, Issue 2020 (31 Dec. 2020), pp.1-5, 5 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2020-05-04
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
5
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
A two-year-old female presented with acutely altered mental status following eight days of fever and rash.
She had been camping at an Indiana campground 11 days prior to the onset of illness and was evaluated twice for her fever and rash prior to admission.
Laboratory evaluation on admission revealed thrombocytopenia, hyponatremia, and elevated transaminases.
The patient developed diffuse cerebral edema, and despite intensive care, the edema led to brain death from Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF).
We present this case to highlight the importance of considering RMSF and other tick-borne illnesses in a child with prolonged fever and rash in a nonendemic area and also the difficulty of diagnosis in early stages of disease.
A detailed travel history, evaluation of key laboratory findings (white blood count, platelet count, and transaminases), and close follow-up if rash and fevers persist may help to improve detection of RMSF.
If a tick-borne illness such as RMSF is suspected, empiric doxycycline therapy should be started immediately, as lab confirmation may take several days and mortality increases greatly after five days of symptoms.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Rhodes, Steven D.& Teagarden, Alicia M.& Graner, Brian& Lutfi, Riad& John, Chandy C.. 2020. Brain Death Secondary to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Encephalitis. Case Reports in Critical Care،Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1146280
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Rhodes, Steven D.…[et al.]. Brain Death Secondary to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Encephalitis. Case Reports in Critical Care No. 2020 (2020), pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1146280
American Medical Association (AMA)
Rhodes, Steven D.& Teagarden, Alicia M.& Graner, Brian& Lutfi, Riad& John, Chandy C.. Brain Death Secondary to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Encephalitis. Case Reports in Critical Care. 2020. Vol. 2020, no. 2020, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1146280
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1146280