Acute sensorineural hearing loss and severe otalgia due to scrub typhus.
BACKGROUND
Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi.


METHODS
We encountered a patient with sensorineural hearing loss complicating scrub typhus, and three patients with scrub typhus who complained of otalgia, which was sudden onset, severe, paroxysmal, intermittent yet persistent pain lasting for several seconds, appeared within 1 week after the onset of fever and rash. The acute sensorineural hearing loss and otalgia were resolved after antibiotic administration.


CONCLUSIONS
When patients in endemic areas present with fever and rash and have sensorineural hearing loss or otalgia without otoscopic abnormalities, clinicians should suspect scrub typhus and consider empirical antibiotic therapy.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Chosun University, School of Medicine, Gwangju City, Republic of Korea. jeankk@naver.com
Ji-In
JI
Kang
Dong-Min
DM
Kim
Joonhan
J
Lee
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004433:Earache / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000150:complications*