Table 1. Characteristics of 90 patients with murine typhus, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA, July 1, 2013–June 30, 2016*.
| Characteristic |
No. (%) patients |
|||
| Age ≥18 y |
Age <18 y |
Total |
p value |
|
| Symptoms | ||||
| Subjective fever/chills | 53/54 (98) | 36/36 (100) | 89/90 (99) | 1 |
| Malaise | 21/24 (88) | 15/20 (75) | 36/44 (82) | 0.44 |
| Headache | 37/46 (80) | 23/32 (72) | 60/78 (77) | 0.38 |
| Fatigue | 22/29 (76) | 10/17 (59) | 32/46 (70) | 0.22 |
| Myalgias | 29/39 (74) | 13/23 (57) | 42/62 (68) | 0.15 |
| Nausea and/or vomiting | 31/52 (60) | 21/35 (60) | 52/87 (60) | 0.97 |
| Cough | 21/52 (40) | 18/36 (50) | 39/88 (44) | 0.37 |
| Abdominal pain | 17/47(36) | 10/33 (30) | 27/80 (34) | 0.58 |
| Arthralgia | 9/34 (26) | 4/24 (17) | 13/58 (22) | 0.53 |
| Diarrhea | 9/50 (18) | 1/35 (3) | 10/85 (12) | 0.04 |
| Confusion |
6/42 (14) |
2/30 (7) |
8/72 (11) |
0.45 |
| Signs | ||||
| Temperature ≥100.4°F | 48/54 (89) | 34/36 (94) | 82/90 (91) | 0.47 |
| Rash | 16/51 (31) | 18/36 (50) | 34/87 (39) | 0.12 |
| Enlarged liver | 1/44 (2) | 1/32 (3) | 2/76 (3) | 1 |
| Enlarged spleen |
0/44 (0) |
1/32 (3) |
1/76 (1) |
0.42 |
| Laboratory findings | ||||
| Leukocytes <6,000 cells/mm3 | 10/54 (19) | 11/36 (31) | 21/90 (23) | 0.19 |
| Leukocytes <3,000 cells/mm3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Platelets <120,000/mm3 | 37/54 (69) | 12/36 (33) | 49/90 (54) | <0.01 |
| Bilirubin ≥1.5 mg/dL | 14/54 (26) | 3/36 (8) | 17/90 (19) | 0.05 |
| AST >50 IU/L | 51/54 (94) | 25/36 (69) | 76/90 (84) | <0.01 |
| ALT >50 IU/L | 45/54 (83) | 22/36 (61) | 67/90 (74) | 0.02 |
| Serum sodium ≤133 mmol/L | 34/54 (63) | 6/36 (17) | 40/90 (44) | <0.01 |
| Serum albumin <3.5 g/dL | 46/54 (85) | 27/36 (75) | 73/90 (81) | 0.23 |
| Serum procalcitonin >0.5 ng/mL | 9/13 (69) | 1/1 (100) | 10/14 (71) | 1 |
| IgM ≥1:128 | 50/54 (93) | 36/36 (100) | 86/90 (96) | 0.15 |
| IgG ≥1:128 | 41/54 (76) | 22/36 (61) | 63/90 (70) | 0.13 |
| Complications | 18/54 (33) | 7/36 (19) | 25/90 (28) | 0.15 |
*ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase.