Predicting tularemia with clinical, laboratory and demographical findings in the ED

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to determine clinical, laboratory and demographical characteristics of tularemia on admission to Emergency Department (ED). Material and Methods: Medical data of 317 patients admitted to ED and subsequently hospitalized with suspected tularemia between January 1, 2011, and May 31, 2015, were collected. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to microagglutination test results, as tularemia (+) and tularemia (-). Results: Of the 317 patients involved, 49 were found to be tularemia (+) and 268 were tularemia (-). Mean age of the tularemia (+) patients was found to be higher than that of tularemia (-) patients. When compared to tularemia (-) patients, a significant portion of patients in tularemia (+) patients were elderly, living in rural areas and had contact with rodents. When clinical and laboratory findings of the 2 groups were compared, any statistical significance could not be determined. Conclusion: Tularemia is a disease of elderly people living in rural areas. Contact with rodents also increases risk of tularemia in suspected patients. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.