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Show Ophthalmoplegia Due to Scrub Typhus Jinhyun Kim, MD, Ji Seon Kim, MD, Dong-Ik Shin, MD, Sung-Hyun Lee, MD, Sang-Soo Lee, MD, Seo-Young Choi, MD Abstract: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. The illness is usually characterized by fever, rash, and lymphadenopathy, but severe cases progress to pulmonary and neurological involvement. We report a 69-year-old man who developed ptosis and ophthalmoplegia with a focal nodular lesion in the anterior cavernous sinus detected with magnetic reso-nance imaging. Found to have scrub typhus, the ptosis and ophthalmoplegia resolved after treatment with doxycycline. Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology 2015;35:284-286 doi: 10.1097/WNO.0000000000000259 © 2015 by North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, a Rickettsia species transmitted to mam-mals by biting larvae of chiggers (trombiculid mites) (1). The infection can induce generalized vasculitis and lymph-adenopathy featuring multiorgan involvement, including meningoencephalitis (2,3). The vasculitis caused by scrub typhus is characterized by destruction of endothelial cells and perivascular infiltration of leukocytes (4). We describe a patient with scrub typhus ophthalmoplegia due to an inflammatory lesion in the anterior cavernous sinus demon-strated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CASE REPORT A previously healthy 69-year-old farmer was referred with a 4-day history of complete left ptosis. The patient had been hospitalized with fever, truncal rash, and an eschar on his right leg. He had received 200 mg/d doxycycline for 5 days. On the fifth day, complete ptosis developed in the left eye without pain or tenderness, which prompted the referral. On examination, the patient was afebrile (36.4°C), blood pressure was 107/65 mm Hg, and his pulse rate was 78/min. An eschar was present on his right thigh (Fig. 1). He was alert and oriented. Visual acuity was 20/20 bilaterally, and pupils were isoconic without a relative afferent pupillary defect. The patient had a complete left ptosis, and movement of the left eye was limited in all directions (Fig. 2). Trigeminal nerve function was intact as were the remaining cranial nerves. Routine hematological and serological tests were normal except for mild elevation in liver enzyme levels: asparate transaminase of 45 IU/L (normal: ,40 IU/L) and alanine transaminase 59 IU/IL (normal: ,40 IU/L). Serum immu-noglobulin G (IgG) for Orientia tsutsugamushi, measured using an indirect immunofluororescent antibody (IFA) assay was 1:10,240. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed a mildly elevated protein of 50.7 mg/dL (normal: 15-45 mg/dL) without pleocytosis. His tsutsugamushi CSF IgG also was highly positive (1:2,560). Chest radiography was normal. Brain MRI revealed an enhancing nodular lesion in the anterior cavernous sinus and diffuse meningeal thickening (Fig. 3). The ptosis and ophthalmoplegia resolved after treatment with doxycycline 200 mg/d for 10 days. FIG. 1. An eschar is present on the anteromedial surface of the right thigh. Department of Neurology (JK, JSK, D-IS, S-HL, S-SL), Chungbuk National University College Medicine, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheoungju, Korea; and Department of Neurology (S-YC), Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea. The authors report no conflicts of interest. Address correspondence to Seo-Young Choi, MD, Department of Neurology, Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon, Seo-gu, Dunsanseo-ro 95, 302-799 Korea; E-mail: csy035@hanmail.net 284 Kim et al: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2015; 35: 284-286 Clinical Observation Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. DISCUSSION Our patient presented with ptosis and ipsilateral ophthalmo-plegia presumably due to the intracranial lesion seen on brain MRI. His clinical findings (fever, truncal rash, and eschar) and an elevated IgG titer for Orientia tsutsugamushi in serum and CSF allowed us to diagnose scrub typhus. Because the exter-nal ophthalmoplegia resolved completely after treatment with doxycyline, the focal neurological signs and the lesion in the cavernous sinus were caused by infection or inflammation triggered by the Rickettsia organism. Although scrub typhus may lead to central nervous system (CNS) involvement (5), focal neurologic signs or abnormal findings documented on neuroimaging rarely have been re-ported (2,3). In a previous case report of scrub typhus enceph-alomyelitis, T2 MRI demonstrated high signals in the dorsal pons and cervical spine. The authors proposed that the brain and spinal cord lesions might be due to a postinfectious immune response and did not reflect direct infection. In another case of scrub typhus encephalitis, the patient demon-strated horizontal gaze palsy, nystagmus, and ataxia (2). Mul-tiple patchy areas of increased signal in the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brainstem were present on T2 MRI. It was speculated that the MRI changes were due to breakdown in the blood-brain barrier, microinfarction, and edema second-ary to vasculitis. We found only 2 case reports of abnormal ocular motility as the only neurological sign of scrub typhus. Both patients had unilateral sixth nerve palsies, but brain MRIs were normal (6,7). Microinfarction caused by vasculitis was proposed as the cause of the isolated cranial neuropathies. Scrub typhus is a public health problem in the endemic area of "Tsutsugamushi triangle," which extends from northern Japan and far-eastern Russia in the north to north-ern Australia in the south and to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west. During the Second World War, many soldiers dispatched to these areas died of the disease. Many of these individuals were studied at autopsy (8,9). Focal lesions con-sisting of dense clusters or microglial cells (typhus nodules) or perivascular lymphocytic cell exudates were found (8). The intracranial lesion of our patient may have been a typhus nodule or leptomeningeal congestion. Diagnosis of scrub typhus traditionally is based on clinical features: an eschar, a maculopapular rash, and lymphadenopathy. An eschar, which is the single most useful diagnostic clue, usually can be found on the lower extremities, genital, or axillary regions. The centrifugal FIG. 2. Left ptosis is present with limited left eye movements in all directions. The left lid is held open with tape. FIG. 3. Postcontrast T1 brain magnetic resonance imaging. A. Axial scan shows an enhancing nodular lesion (arrow) in the anterior portion of the left cavernous sinus. B. Coronal view also demonstrates the left cavernous sinus lesion (arrow) and diffuse meningeal enhancement (arrowheads). Kim et al: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2015; 35: 284-286 285 Clinical Observation Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. maculopapular rash, which does not involve palms and soles, is also characteristic. Recently, laboratory tests including IFA and polymerase chain reaction analysis of serum have facilitated the diagnosis of scrub typhus. IFA is particularly helpful; the positivity criterion is either 1 sample with a titer of 1:400 or greater or a fourfold increase in titer to a level of 1:200 or greater (4). Although no reference Tsutsugamushi antibody titer for IFA testing of CSF has yet been established, the strongly positive CSF assay titer in our patient provided convincing evi-dence that the scrub typhus infection involved the CNS. Doxycycline, rifampin, azithromycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol have been used to treat scrub typhus (10). Doxycycline is the drug of choice for initial treatment except in rare drug-resistant cases (11). Interestingly, neurological signs can develop later in the clinical course even during the first week of antibiotic therapy (12). Because the concentration of doxycycline in the CSF is about 20% that of serum, higher dose or long-term therapy may be required with CNS involvement. STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Category 1: a. Conception and design: J. Kim, J. S. Kim, D.-I. Shin, S.-H. Lee, S.-S. Lee; b. Acquisition of data: J. Kim; c. Analysis and interpretation of data: J. Kim, S.-Y. Choi. Category 2: a. Drafting the manuscript: J. Kim, S.-Y. Choi; b. Revising it for intellectual content: S.-Y. Choi. Category 3: a. Final approval of the completed manuscript: S.-Y. Choi. REFERENCES 1. Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R. Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 5th edition. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone, 2000. 2. Yum KS, Na SJ, Lee KO, Ko JH. Scrub typhus meningo-encephalitis with focal neurologic signs and associated brain MRI abnormal findings: literature review. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2011;113:250-253. 3. Kim DE, Lee SH, Park KI, Chang KH, Roh JK. Scrub typhus encephalomyelitis with prominent focal neurologic signs. Arch Neurol. 2000;57:1770-1772. 4. Jeong YJ, Kim S, Wook YD, Lee JW, Kim KI, Lee SH. Scrub typhus: clinical, pathologic, and imaging findings. Radiographics. 2007;27:161-172. 5. Pai H, Sohn S, Seong Y, Kee S, Chang WH, Choe KW. Central nervous system involvement in patients with scrub typhus. Clin Infect Dis. 1997;24:436-440. 6. 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Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013;89:1206-1211. 286 Kim et al: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2015; 35: 284-286 Clinical Observation Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. |
