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Case Reports
. 2022 Oct 15;14(10):e30329.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.30329. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Rapid Recovery of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Scrub Typhus, With Pulse Methylprednisolone and Therapeutic Plasma Exchange

Thilina Rathnasekara  1 , Lanka Wijekoon  2 , Hemal Senanayake  2 , Sisira Siribaddana  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Rapid Recovery of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Scrub Typhus, With Pulse Methylprednisolone and Therapeutic Plasma Exchange

Thilina Rathnasekara et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an atypical presentation of scrub typhus infection with associated high morbidity and mortality compared to uncomplicated scrub typhus infection. Here we report an otherwise healthy 41-year-old female patient admitted with moderate ARDS secondary to scrub typhus infection who gained comparatively rapid recovery within 72 hours following intravenous methylprednisolone pulse (MPP) therapy with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), suggesting a beneficial role of MPP and TPE in the treatment of ARDS secondary to scrub typhus infection. To our knowledge, this is the first case report regarding the use of MPP therapy and TPE in a patient with ARDS due to scrub typhus infection.

Keywords: acute respiratory distress syndrome; methylprednisolone pulse; orientia tsutsugamushi; scrub typhus; therapeutic plasma exchange.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Chest x-ray on admission, showing bilateral non-homogenous opacities (blue arrows) without cardiomegaly consistent with ARDS.
ARDS: acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Eschar over the patient's right buttock region.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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