Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis

Abstract

Scrub typhus is a disease endemic to the Indian subcontinent caused by the obligate intracellular pleomorphic organism, <i>Orientia tsutsugamushi</i>. Scrub typhus, among other acute febrile illnesses, manifests as prodromal symptoms of fever, malaise, myalgia and anorexia followed by a distinct maculopapular rash, hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy. We report the case of a patient presenting to tertiary care hospital in southern India in 2021 who developed a rare cutaneous vasculitis secondary to infection with <i>Orientia tsutsugamushi</i>. After performing the Weil-Felix test, a diagnostic titre of >1:640 against OXK was obtained. Furthermore, a skin biopsy was carried out which confirmed the diagnosis of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. The patient was treated with doxycycline and showed drastic improvement in his symptoms.