Hepatic dysfunction among scrub typhus Indian patients with acute undifferentiated febrile illness

TL;DR

This study examines liver dysfunction in Indian patients with scrub typhus, finding a strong link between disease severity and abnormal liver function tests.

Contribution

The study establishes a correlation between liver function test parameters and disease severity in scrub typhus patients.

Findings

80% of patients showed elevated serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase levels.

There was a moderate to severe liver injury in 100% of patients, with 62% having moderate and 38% severe injury.

Fever duration and liver function test parameters were correlated using Spearman's analysis.

Abstract

Scrub typhus is a febrile illness caused by through trombiculid mite, bite Orientia tsutsugamushi. It is often
unrecognized due to its vague symptoms. It is prevalent in the Rewa region of Madhya Pradesh, India. Therefore, it is of interest to
assess hepatic dysfunction and to establish the association between liver function test parameters and disease severity in confirmed
Scrub typhus cases. Hence, 50 IgM ELISA positive cases from July to September 2024 at Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa were studied.
Data were analysed using IBM SPSS 25 software, with Spearman's correlation used to relate severity, liver function test parameters and
fever duration. The average fever duration was 6.22 days, with 80% of patients showing serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and 70%
showing serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase abnormalities. Thus, there was a correlation between disease severity and liver
dysfunction, with moderate injury in 62% and severe injury in 38% of patients.