[Complications of mediterranean spotted fever]

Mediterranean spotted fever is an infectious disease due to Rickettsia conori transmitted to man by the dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus. The review of a consecutive series of 525 cases, admitted to Caltagirone hospital in the last 20 years, permits the classic clinical picture to be identified by fever, maculopapular eruption and tache noire, and any complications to be visualized. Usually the course of the disease is good, but 12.7% of our cases reported complications such as renal failure, myocarditis, pneumonia, encephalitis, anicteric hepatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, anaemia and impaired glucose tolerance. The development of a systemic vasculite is the main pathogenetic factor in the origin of systemic complications. Early diagnosis and specific antibiotic treatment may reduce the risk of complications.