Clinical analysis of tsutsugamushi disease misdiagnosed as tonsillitis / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Tsutsugamushi disease is an acute infectious rickettsial disease caused by the intracellular parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi. Due to its variety of clinical signs, this disease is often misdiagnosed. This article examines a total of 4 patients who visited our clinics with fever and sore throat. 3 of them had body temperature of 39.5 Celsius degrees when admitted. The characteristic black eschar occurred on 4 of them. Lymphadenopathy occurred on 2 of them. Cough occurred on 1 of them. Lab tests showed that 3 of them had Leukocytosis, 1 of them had increased bronchovascular markings, and 3 of them had Weil-Felix test positive. After admission, all patients, who were confirmed of diagnosis of tsutsugamushi disease instead of tonsillitis, received the comprehensive treatment and cured afterwards.