The clinical significance of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in gastrointestinal vasculitis related to scrub typhus.

Abstract

Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by Rickettsia tsutsugamushi-induced vasculitis, which is common in Asia and the Pacific islands and is sometimes encountered in Western countries because of increased travel and economic changes spurred by world globalization. Skin rash and eschar are typical physical findings on the trunk and extremities, but endoscopic mucosal changes have not been described in the gastrointestinal tract until now. We aimed to describe different endoscopic characteristics of the gastrointestinal manifestation of scrub typhus, to ascertain the necessity for endoscopy, and to determine correlations between the degrees of endoscopic lesion and clinical severity, including cutaneous manifestation.