1. Two cases of cellulitis in the course of African tick bite fever: a fortuitous association?
- Author
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Bouvresse S, Del Giudice P, Franck N, Buffet M, Avril MF, Mondain V, Rolain JM, Raoult D, and Dupin N
- Subjects
- Aged, Animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Cellulitis drug therapy, Doxycycline therapeutic use, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Rickettsia isolation & purification, Rickettsia Infections drug therapy, Risk Assessment, Tick-Borne Diseases drug therapy, Travel, Treatment Outcome, Zimbabwe, beta-Lactams therapeutic use, Cellulitis complications, Cellulitis diagnosis, Rickettsia Infections complications, Rickettsia Infections diagnosis, Tick-Borne Diseases complications, Tick-Borne Diseases diagnosis
- Abstract
In African tick bite fever (ATBF), inoculation eschar - resulting from disruption of the cutaneous barrier - may be a risk factor for cellulitis. We report 2 cases of ATBF associated with cellulitis. A 77-year-old woman was referred for severe leg cellulitis upon returning from sub-Saharan Africa. She developed erythematous macules. Rickettsia africae was detected by PCR assay from a skin biopsy specimen, and ATBF diagnosis was confirmed. A 75-year-old man was hospitalized after his return from Zimbabwe for a maculopapular exanthema and erysipelas-like rash of the leg. The diagnosis of cellulitis associated with ATBF was confirmed by PCR and serological methods. Both patients were treated for ATBF and cellulitis by a combination of doxycycline and beta-lactam antibiotics, and both had a good recovery. Inoculation eschar may be a risk factor for cellulitis; thus, we hypothesize a non-fortuitous association between ATBF and cellulitis., ((c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.)
- Published
- 2008
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