Scrub typhus presenting as an acute abdomen

Abstract

Scrub typhus is a mite-borne infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, which presents as an acute febrile illness with headache, myalgia, breathlessness, and an eschar, a pathognomonic sign, in a varying proportion of patients. However, this illness can present unusually with fever and severe abdominal pain mimicking acute abdomen. A careful search for an eschar in all patients with an acute febrile illness would provide a valuable diagnostic clue and avoid unnecessary investigations and surgical exploration.

Keywords

• Acute abdomen
• Scrub typhus
• Unusual presentation