title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 4, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Abhilash Pp
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kundavaram
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 1, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Sohini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine 1, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Varghese M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: George
keywords: Acute abdomen; Scrub typhus; Unusual presentation
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