Case report highlights leptospirosis causing respiratory distress in a healthy young woman, suggesting urban zoonotic infection risks.
We present the case of a 28-year-old woman with no significant comorbidities aside from asthma who developed progressive hypoxic respiratory failure and hemoptysis following a rat bite. Imaging revealed bilateral ground-glass opacities suggestive of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH). Broad infectious and autoimmune workup was initiated. Initial empiric treatment targeted community-acquired pneumonia. The patient’s condition worsened, requiring high-flow oxygen support. Leptospira PCR ultimately returned positive, and she improved with a seven-day course of doxycycline. This case underscores the importance of detailed exposure history and consideration of zoonotic infections, even in urban settings, in patients with undifferentiated acute respiratory distress and alveolar hemorrhage. This abstract is funded by: None
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Wade et al. (2026) studied this question.
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