Acute Onset Postpartum Pleural Effusion: A Near-Miss Maternal Case Due to Scrub Typhus Infection

Abstract

A 32-year-old puerperal patient developed acute onset breathlessness and fever on the third postoperative day. On evaluation, the patient was diagnosed to have scrub typhus pneumonia without any characteristic eschar. The condition was associated with pleural effusion, and it was drained. Azithromycin was used as the drug of choice due to the peripartum status of this patient. The patient improved due to early detection and multidisciplinary timely care. The safe outcome of this near-miss case suggests that fever profile workup, especially in scrub typhus endemic areas, should include scrub typhus testing even if classical signs are absent in the peripartum period.