Table 1.
Demographic/clinical characteristics and laboratory findings in the scrub typhus patients evaluated in a comparative study of meningitis or meningoencephalitis
| Characteristics | Meningitis or meningoencephalitis | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (N = 22) | No (N = 303) | ||
| Demographic data | |||
| Age, median years (range) | 70.23 (43–88) | 64.0 (18–91) | 0.004 |
| Gender, no. of males/no. of females (%) | 8/14 (36.4) | 103/200 (34.0) | 1.00 |
| Professional farmer (%) | 18 (81.8) | 148 (53.0) | 0.017 |
| Presence of disease being treated for ≥ 3 mo (%) | 6 (28.6) | 69 (23.2) | 0.596 |
| Duration of illness before admission, median days (range) | 7.0 (2–22) | 6.0 (0–80) | 0.469 |
| No. of the Boryoung genotype/total no. of the genotypes (%) | 20/20 (100) | 248/269 (92.2) | 0.378 |
| Therapeutic delay > 5 days (%) | 11/11 (50.0) | 161 (53.7) | 0.911 |
| Chest x-ray abnormality (%) | 18 (81.8) | 97 (32.1) | < 0.001 |
| Modified APACHE II score, median (range) | 9.32 (3–19) | 6.0 (0–18) | 0.001 |
| Time to defervescence, median hr (range) | 33.3 (0–105) | 20.0 (0–144) | 0.022 |
| Time to resolve headache, median days (range) | 8.8 (2–24) | 4.0 (4–60) | 0.001 |
| Time to resolve myalgia, median days (range) | 8.4 (1–29) | 3.0 (0–48) | 0.004 |
| Time to resolve skin rashes, median days (range) | 4.6 (1–13) | 4.0 (0–60) | 0.553 |
| Associated complications | |||
| Pneumonia on admission | 15 (68.2) | 46 (15.2) | < 0.001 |
| Acute renal failure on admission | 2 (9.1) | 31 (10.2) | 1.000 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 2 (9.1) | 12 (4.0) | 0.243 |
| Clinical symptoms and signs | |||
| Headache, no. (%) of patients | 17 (77.3) | 255 (84.4) | 0.370 |
| Myalgia, no. (%) of patients | 14 (63.6) | 228 (75.5) | 0.326 |
| Cough, no. (%) of patients | 13 (59.1) | 84 (27.8) | 0.004 |
| Dyspnea, no. (%) of patients | 9 (40.9) | 51 (16.9) | 0.010 |
| Altered mental status, no. (%) of patients | 11 (50.0) | 8 (2.6) | < 0.001 |
| Fever, no. (%) of patients | 17 (77.3) | 210 (69.5) | 0.600 |
| Tachycardia, no. (%) of patients | 6 (37.5) | 20 (8.4) | 0.003 |
| Skin rash, no. (%) of patients | 19 (86.4) | 263 (87.1) | 1.000 |
| Eschar, no.(%) of patients | 19 (86.4) | 285 (94.1) | 0.161 |
| Hematemesis or melena, no. (%) of patients | 2 (16.7) | 10 (5.6) | 0.168 |
| Shock, no. (%) of patients | 3 (13.6) | 12 (4.0) | 0.072 |
| Laboratory data (median [range]) | |||
| WBC count (no. of cells × 1,000/mm3) | 10,255 (6,550–18,170) | 7,150 (1,100–20,000) | < 0.001 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 12.7 (9.6–16.6) | 12.5 (5.9–17.6) | 0.965 |
| Platelet count (no. of cells × 1,000/mm3) | 136 (53.0–301.0) | 137 (17.0–585.0) | 0.565 |
| AST (IU/L) | 80.5 (19.0–335.0) | 73.0 (17.0–1164.0) | 0.476 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 64.5 (19–253) | 58.0 (3–1221) | 0.919 |
| ALP (U/L) | 158.0 (38–650) | 84.0 (9–578) | 0.668 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.8 (0.4–4.8) | 0.7 (0–7.4) | 0.118 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.0 (2.5–4.1) | 3.7 (1.9–5.0) | < 0.001 |
| LDH (U/L) | 739.0 (432–1326) | 738.5 (2–3510) | 0.526 |
| CPK (U/L) | 94.0 (12.0–1905.0) | 100.0 (9.0–6114.0) | 0.962 |
| ADA (IU/L) | 84.5 (54.0–144.0) | 77.0 (12.0–144.0) | 0.076 |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.01 (0.6–5.05) | 1.0 (0.02–5.23) | 0.845 |
| Fibrinogen (mg/dL) | 260.7 (118.0–698.0) | 333.5 (40.8–671.4) | 0.016 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 9.8 (0.3–20.0) | 6.9 (0.3–78.0) | 0.011 |
| ESR (mm/hr) | 17.0 (2.0–42.0) | 15.0 (2.0–86.0) | 0.678 |
| PT (sec) | 12.0 (10.4–14.1) | 12.1 (9.3–30.3) | 0.937 |
| aPTT (sec) | 31.5 (23.1–48.3) | 29.6 (18.2–57.0) | 0.067 |
Values are median (range).
There were significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups (P < 0.05).
WBC = white blood cell; AST = aspartate aminotransferase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; LDH = Lactate dehydrogenase; CPK = Creatine kinase; ADA = adenosine deaminase; CRP = C-reactive protein; ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate; PT = prothrombin time; aPTT = activated partial thromboplastin time.