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Volume 31, Number 9—September 2025

CME ACTIVITY - Research

Rickettsioses as Underrecognized Cause of Hospitalization for Febrile Illness, Uganda

Paul W. BlairComments to Author , Sultanah Alharthi, Andrés F. Londoño, Abdullah Wailagala, Yukari C. Manabe, J. Stephen Dumler, and the Acute Febrile Illness and Sepsis in Uganda Study Teams1
Author affiliation: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (P.W. Blair, S. Alharthi); Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (A.F. Londoño, J.S. Dumler); Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (A. Wailagala); Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (Y.C. Manabe)

Main Article

Table 3

Clinical examination and laboratory features among diagnostic classes in a study of rickettsioses as an underrecognized cause of hospitalization for febrile illness, Uganda *

Characteristic Total, n = 329 Malarial, n = 59 Rickettsial, n = 33 p value, rickettsial vs. malarial† Nonmalarial, n = 237 p value, rickettsial vs. nonmalarial†
Rash on examination, no. (%)‡ 21/328 (6.4) 2/59 (3.4) 2/33 (6.1) 0.616 17/236 (7.2) >0.999
Leukocytes, × 103 cells/µL§ 5.5 (3.9–8.4) 4.7 (3.3–6.6) 6.2 (4.6–8.1) 0.012 5.6 (4.1–9.4) 0.900
Platelet count, × 103 cells/µL ¶ 205.0 (134.7–289.0) 104.1 (64.2–179.0) 168.0 (116.9–264.5) 0.007 227.0 (171.0–311.0) 0.013
AST, U/L ‡# 35.0 (26.0–59.0) 32.0 (24.0–42.0) 38.0 (26.0–92.0) 0.081 36.0 (26.0–61.0) 0.524
ALT, U/L 23.0 (18.0–36.0) 21.0 (17.0–28.0) 25.0 (19.0–44.0) 0.119 24.0 (18.0–37.0) 0.596
Creatinine, mg/dL** 0.8 (0.5–1.0) 0.8 (0.0–1.0) 0.8 (0.0–1.1) 0.204 0.8 (0.6–1.0) 0.541

*Values are median (interquartile range) except as indicated. ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate transaminase; qSOFA, quick sepsis organ failure assessment. †Fisher exact test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, or Pearson χ2 test. ‡No. positive/no. tested (%). Missing for 1 of 329 participants. §Missing for 18 of 328 participants. ¶Missing for 19 of 328 participants. #Missing for 1 of 329 participants. **Missing for 2 of 322 participants.

Main Article

1Members are listed at the end of this article.

Page created: July 09, 2025
Page updated: August 22, 2025
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