Scrub Typhus Infection Induced Cardiovascular Disease

Scrub typhus is a zoonotic disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi confined to East Asia including South Korea. It is characterized by fever, headache, rash, and eschar and the majority of patients without complications can recover with an early diagnosis and proper management with antibiotics. However, the increasing mortality rate of scrub typhus has been recently reported in Southeast Asia. Severe complications can be manifested by respiratory distress syndrome, renal failure, hepatic failure, and cardiovascular disease. Especially, cardiovascular complications can lead to cardiogenic shock and sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, the association and predictors for scrub typhus induced cardiovascular disease should be investigated to provide a timely and appropriate diagnosis and to reduce the mortality rate of complicated scrub typhus infection. Therefore, investigators prospectively investigate the association and predictors of cardiovascular disease in the participants with scrub typhus infection admitted to 3rd referral centers in South Korea.