Picture This
Oral Cues to Disease
The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the mouth speaks volumes about the body. See how oral conditions provide clues to the bigger picture...
3. A 42-year-old Native American farmer in Arizona has a reddish purple petechial rash on his ankles and feet. Upon questioning, he reports that about three weeks ago he had a slight fever with headache and malaise. Then, last week, he noticed small, flat, pink, nonitchy macules on his wrists, forearms, and ankles; they are now spreading to the trunk.
Source: CDC
[https://www.cdc.gov/rmsf/symptoms/index.html]
Diagnosis: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, now reported to the CDC as spotted fever rickettsiosis, is a tick-borne illness caused by the gram-negative intracellular bacterium Rickettsia rickettsia. It is endemic in the Southeastern and South Central United States. Most cases occur between April and September, coinciding with the active season of the vector tick species. Early diagnosis is critical because untreated RMSF may progress to fulminant systemic illness.
For more information, see “Fever and Rash in a 3-Year-Old Girl: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.” Cutis. 2002;70(3):165-168.