Q Fever

Justin O’Keefe, MD, Kendall J. Vogel, DO and Roselyn Jan W. Clemente-Fuentes, MD, FAAFP Reviewed 06/2019

BASICS

DESCRIPTION

Zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, a hearty organism that can survive for years in soil

Infected animals are usually asymptomatic, although repeated pregnancy losses can o...

DIAGNOSIS

Diagnosis requires high degree of clinical suspicion. The presentation is often insidious, with protean clinical manifestations. Often, there is an unclear history of direct exposure to infe...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

Hospitalization for severe infections, symptoms of congestive heart failure, or respiratory distress

MEDICATION

Antibiotic therapy used only for symptomatic illness

First Line

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

Patient Monitoring

Follow-up serology at 3 and 6 months in all patients with acute Q fever (4)[C]. For patients at high risk for progression to chronic Q fever, ad...

REFERENCES

Mertens K, Gerlach C, Heinrich N, et al. Q fever—an update. Curr Clin Micro Rpt. 2017;4:61–71. [View Abstract on OvidMedline]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Q fever: epi...

ADDITIONAL READING

Chmielewski T, Tylewska-Wierzbanowska S. Q fever at the turn of the century. Pol J Microbiol. 2012;61(2):81–93. [View Abstract on OvidMedline]
Wegdam-Blans MC, Kampschreur LM, ...

CODES

ICD10

A78 Q fever
I39 Endocarditis and heart valve disord in dis classd elswhr

ICD9

083.0 Q fever
424.91 Endocarditis in diseases classified elsewhere

SNOMED

186788009 Q fever (disorder)
95890006 Q feve...

CLINICAL PEARLS

The diagnosis of Q fever requires a high degree of clinical suspicion.
Q fever is likely underdiagnosed. Consider in patients presenting with flulike symptoms in the setting of a known ...

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