Patient selection: scrub typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi) with eschar
Risk factors for severe disease (APACHE II score >= 10):
(1) advanced age (mean age 74 years with range 61 to 82 years)
(2) diabetes mellitus
(3) congestive heart disease
(4) cerebrovascular disease
(5) chronic liver disease
(6) chronic respiratory disease (asthma, COPD)
(7) serum osteopontin > 100 ng/dL
Patients with severe disease often had:
(1) anemia (with hemoglobin <= 10 g/dL)
(2) C-reactive protein (CRP) > 10 mg/dL
(3) serum osteopontin > 100 ng/dL
The presence of a low serum osteopontin concentration may be a useful indicator for non-severe disease.
