Background: Authors aimed to identify incidence of scrub typhus among patients of fever. Scrub typhus is an endemic disease in India caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, transmitted by trombiculid mites. It is an important cause of acute febrile illness in India. Signs and symptoms include fever, headache, myalgia and GI symptoms and is generally associated with morbilliform rash (<40%), eschar (<50%) which is due to bite of the mite. Abnormal LFTs and lymphocytosis are commonly seen in early phase of illness. It’s often labelled as PUO. Early diagnosis and prompt administration of therapy mostly leads to complete recoveryMethods: Authors screened 100 patients presenting with fever, malaise, headache, with or without rash for more than a week from the month of May to December 2019. Routine blood investigations with fever profile (Dengue NS1 antigen, MP, MPDA, TyphidotM) and cultures were done. Patients in whom no cause of fever could be established, having lymphocytosis, hyponatremia and transaminitis, they were tested for Scrub typhus by using Indirect immunofluorescence & detection of IgM antibody.Results: Total 22 patients were found positive for scrub typhus by using the aforementioned method (22%). Male: Female ratio was 3:4 (9 vs 12). Patients were in the age group of 16-76 years. Lymphocytosis, hyponatremia and transaminitis were cardinal features seen in almost all patients diagnosed with Scrub Typhus.Conclusions: This study will help clinicians to have a stronger suspicion of scrub typhus in undiagnosed febrile patients.

Systemic lupus erythematosus presenting with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSLE) along with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is rare. A young woman of 29 years presented with various neuropsychiatric symptoms along with low-grade fever, occasional headache, skin rash, arthralgias and gradually became non-ambulatory over last 6 months. After admission, she had an episode of generalised tonic-clonic seizure, followed by drowsiness. She was normotensive. Investigations revealed no evidence of any underlying infection, normal renal functions and electrolytes; but other parameters were supportive to a diagnosis of NPSLE. MRI brain showed vasogenic oedema characterised by symmetrical hyperintensities over posterior brain regions in T2 and fluid attenuated inversion recovery images with no restricted diffusion in diffusion weighted image suggestive of PRES. A diagnosis of NPSLE presenting with PRES, particularly in the absence of hypertension and abnormal renal functions was made, which is a rare presentation. She responded well to immunomodulatory therapy with methylprednisolone and monthly cyclophosphamide.

Scrub typhus with neurological manifestations are often described. We present here unusual neurological manifestations in a patient with Scrub typhus. A 49 years old male presented with continued fever for the last 12 days along with headache and myalgia. He had left sided oculomotor nerve palsy along with palatal palsy and triparesis (except left upper limb) of lower motor neurone type. Electro-diagnostic studies showed asymmetric axonal sensorimotor neuropathies of multiple nerves in paretic limbs, suggestive of mononeuritis multiplex. Scrub typhus was diagnosed by the presence of IgM antibody in serum. He responded well with doxycycline therapy. This type of neurological presentation is extremely rare in scrub typhus and possibly has not been described earlier to the best of our knowledge.

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