Q fever presenting as splenic infarct without endocarditis
Caitlin A. Contag,
Lucy Studemeister,
Yael Bogler,
Joseph D. Cooper
Affiliations
Caitlin A. Contag
Stanford University Department of Medicine, Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, 300 Pasteur Dr. Lane-134, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Corresponding author.
Lucy Studemeister
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Department of Medicine, San Jose, CA, United States
Yael Bogler
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Department of Medicine, Division of AIDS Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mycobacterial Diseases and International Health, San Jose, CA, United States
Joseph D. Cooper
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Department of Medicine, Division of AIDS Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mycobacterial Diseases and International Health, San Jose, CA, United States
Q fever is frequently associated with the development of antiphospholipid antibodies though rarely causes thromboses. A 44-year-old man presented with diarrhea and fevers and was found to have a splenic infarct. Infectious work-up revealed acute Q fever as well as high anticardiolipin antibody titers. He was treated with doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine and suffered no further thromboembolic complications. The optimal management of thromboembolic complications is uncertain given the rarity of documented cases. However, the presence of these antibodies has been associated with increased risk of complications. Further investigation into the management of patients with Q fever associated hypercoagulability is needed.
