Retrospective Analysis of Chronic Q Fever Cases at a Tertiary Care Center from 2007 to 2023
Open Forum Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1093/ofid/ofag542
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- —
- Study type
- Cohort study
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Chronic Q fever cases are increasing in the United States, often without identifiable exposures. Diagnostic delays remain common and may contribute to morbidity in patients with cardiac or vascular conditions.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
This retrospective cohort study examined the clinical characteristics, diagnostic pathways, treatment approaches, and outcomes of chronic Q fever cases managed at a tertiary care center over a 16-year period.
Study design
Retrospective cohort study reviewing medical records of chronic Q fever patients at Mayo Clinic from 2007 to 2023. Inclusion required clinical evidence plus phase I IgG titer at or above 1:1024 or positive PCR for Coxiella burnetii.
Population and setting
Thirty-three patients with chronic Q fever at a U.S. tertiary care center (median age 56 years, 88% male). About half reported animal exposure while nearly a quarter had no identifiable exposure.
Main findings
Median time to diagnosis was 99 days. Most cases involved prosthetic valve endocarditis (42%) or vascular graft infection (27%). Three-quarters received doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine, 42% required surgery, and mortality attributable to chronic Q fever was 6%.
Public-health relevance
Chronic Q fever cases are increasing in the United States, often without identifiable exposures. Diagnostic delays remain common and may contribute to morbidity in patients with cardiac or vascular conditions.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, including assessment of potential selection bias from the single-center tertiary care setting, retrospective data quality, and generalizability.
GIDS interpretation
This article was identified through disease and topic classifiers for Q fever, diagnostics, and treatment in the United States. It provides context on clinical presentation and outcomes at a specialized center but does not itself constitute evidence of a change in disease activity.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 7 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.