Q fever

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Temperature measurement

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Q fever

Alternative Names:

Query fever

Treatment:

The cornerstone of treatment for Q fever is antibiotic therapy. For acute Q fever (early stage) doxycycline is the recommended agent. For chronic Q fever, a combination of doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine is frequently used.

Expectations (prognosis):

The prognosis for people who get treatment in the early stages of Q fever is generally good. Chronic Q fever requires prolonged treatment with antibiotics and requires frequent monitoring for relapses.

Complications:

endocarditis
chronic hepatitis and liver dysfunction
encephalitis

Calling your health care provider:

Notify your medical provider if you develop the above mentioned symptoms, in particular if you have a compatible exposure history. While there are many different illnesses that can cause similar symptoms, you may need to be evaluated for the possibility of Q fever.

Review Date: 7/16/2004
Reviewed By: Daniel Levy, M.D., Ph.D., Infectious Diseases, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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