Retrospective observational study reveals faster fever clearance and shorter hospital stays with doxycycline in pediatric scrub typhus, indicating both remain effective treatment options.
Key Points
To compare clinical outcomes, fever clearance time, and complication rates between azithromycin and doxycycline in pediatric patients with scrub typhus.
Retrospective observational study conducted over 6 years (January 2020 to January 2026) at a tertiary care center in Chengalpattu.
Evaluated N=120 pediatric patients aged 1–18 years with serologically confirmed scrub typhus, categorized into azithromycin (n=60) and doxycycline (n=60) treatment groups.
Primary endpoint was fever clearance time (time to sustained defervescence); secondary endpoints included hospital stay duration, clinical improvement rate, complication rates, ICU admission, and mortality.
Doxycycline administration was associated with a significantly shorter fever clearance time, faster overall clinical improvement, and reduced hospital length of stay compared with azithromycin.
Rates of complications (respiratory, neurological, and hepatic involvement), intensive care requirements, and mortality did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups.