Predicting tularemia with clinical, laboratory and demographical findings in the ED

IntroductionWe aimed to determine clinical, laboratory and demographical characteristics of tularemia on admission to Emergency Department (ED).Material and MethodsMedical data of 317 patients admitted to ED and subsequently hospitalized with suspected tularemia between January 1, 2011, and May 31, 2015, were collected. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to microagglutination test results, as tularemia (+) and tularemia (−).ResultsOf the 317 patients involved, 49 were found to be tularemia (+) and 268 were tularemia (−). Mean age of the tularemia (+) patients was found to be higher than that of tularemia (−) patients. When compared to tularemia (−) patients, a significant portion of patients in tularemia (+) patients were elderly, living in rural areas and had contact with rodents. When clinical and laboratory findings of the 2 groups were compared, any statistical significance could not be determined.ConclusionTularemia is a disease of elderly people living in rural areas. Contact with rodents also increases risk of tularemia in suspected patients.