eMedicine Specialties > Infectious Diseases > Bacterial Infections

Ehrlichiosis: Follow-up

Author: Burke A Cunha, MD, Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Feb 5, 2009

Follow-up

Deterrence/Prevention

  • In endemic ehrlichiosis areas, proper precautions should be taken when traveling through tick-infested wooded areas by minimizing exposed areas of skin with proper clothing and diethyltoluamide (DEET).
  • After returning from wooded and/or tick-infested areas, individuals should check themselves carefully for ticks. If found, ticks should be removed carefully and a physician should be consulted.

Prognosis

  • Ehrlichiosis carries an excellent prognosis in healthy hosts.
  • Ehrlichiosis carries an estimated mortality rate of 1-5%. The likelihood of mortality is much greater in immunocompromised hosts.

Patient Education

  • Educate patients in endemic ehrlichiosis areas to take proper precautions when traveling through wooded and/or tick-infested areas (see Deterrence/Prevention).
  • For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Bites and Stings Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education article Ticks.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Clinicians should remember that doxycycline is the preferred antimicrobial agent for all treatable tick-borne infectious diseases.
  • Avoid using chloramphenicol in patients with possible ehrlichiosis because it is ineffective in both human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA).
 


More on Ehrlichiosis

Overview: Ehrlichiosis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Ehrlichiosis
Treatment & Medication: Ehrlichiosis
Follow-up: Ehrlichiosis
Multimedia: Ehrlichiosis
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

ehrlichiosis, human monocytic ehrlichiosis, HME, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, HGA, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, HGE, spotless Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichia, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E chaffeensis, Erlichia ewingii, E ewingii, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, A phagocytophilum, morulae

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Burke A Cunha, MD, Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital
Burke A Cunha, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Thomas J Marrie, MD, Chair, Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alberta College of Medicine
Thomas J Marrie, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, Canadian Infectious Disease Society, and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Michael Stuart Bronze, MD, Professor, Stewart G Wolf Chair in Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center
Michael Stuart Bronze, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, Association of Professors of Medicine, Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Oklahoma State Medical Association, and Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD, Clinical and Research Fellow, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital
Eleftherios Mylonakis, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases Society of America
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Michael Stuart Bronze, MD, Professor, Stewart G Wolf Chair in Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center
Michael Stuart Bronze, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, Association of Professors of Medicine, Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Oklahoma State Medical Association, and Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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