The Varied Spectrum of Clinical Presentations of Leptospirosis in Delhi: Post-2023 Floods Case Series from a Tertiary Care Hospital and Medical College
Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the spirochete Leptospira, presents a diagnostic challenge due to its varied clinical manifestations, often mimicking common febrile illnesses. The spectrum of presentation is enigmatic, encompassing common symptoms like fever, myalgia, headache, and conjunctival suffusion to atypical manifestations like disseminated intravascular coagulation, fulminant hepatitis, pulmonary hemorrhage, aseptic meningitis, and hypokalemic acute interstitial nephritis with urinary magnesium loss. This diversity in clinical presentation is due to an exaggerated nonspecific systemic immunoinflammatory response. Due to its so many varied presentations diagnosis becomes challenging and increases the risk of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Understanding the varied presentations and maintaining a high index of suspicion in endemic regions or after exposure to contaminated environments is crucial for accurate diagnosis and prompt intervention. This abstract highlights the challenges we encountered in our hospital during monsoon in recognizing and managing leptospirosis, emphasizing the importance of clinical vigilance and targeted diagnostic approaches in suspected cases and also unraveling the atypical presentation.
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