tetracycline and Tick-Infestations

Tick infestation of the external auditory canal (EAC) constitutes <1% of all patients presenting with ear complaints. Consequently, parameters for the diagnosis and management of ticks in the EAC have not been established.. We report 2 cases of EAC infestation by Amblyomma testudinarium in 2 female patients, aged 12- and 72 years old.. In both patients, otoscopic examination revealed engorged ticks attached to the ear canal. The 12-year-old girl had a narrow EAC, necessitating slight dislodging of the tick to determine if its mouth parts were embedded in the EAC skin. The tick's mouth parts were confirmed to be free, enabling complete removal of the tick. The 72-year-old woman had a wide EAC, enabling tick removal using Hartman's forceps because the tick's mouth parts were confirmed to be free of the skin. Prophylactic tetracycline (200 mg/day) was administered to each patient for 7 days; neither showed any signs of fever or rash.. This report describes 2 patients with A testudinarium infestation of the EAC, and proposes a simple, noninvasive protocol for determining if the tick is anchored to the ear canal.

Topics: Aged; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotic Prophylaxis; Child; Ear Canal; Humans; Ixodidae; Male; Otoscopy; Tetracycline; Tick Infestations

A 4-year-old male mixed-breed dog from the Sierra Nevada mountains in California was referred because of epistaxis and signs of cervical pain. Dermacentor variabilis ticks were found on the dog at the time of physical examination. Clinicopathologic abnormalities included nonregenerative anemia, thrombocytopenia, and rare intracytoplasmic morulae within circulating neutrophils. Abnormalities of the CSF included pleocytosis and intracytoplasmic morulae in approximately 9% of neutrophils. Serum antibody titers for Ehrlichia canis (40,960) and Rickettsia rickettsii (5,120) were high, and titer for E equi (40) was moderate. Treatment included administration of tetracycline, chloramphenicol, doxycycline, and prednisone. The dog had several relapses, but long-term remission was eventually achieved. Granulocytic ehrlichiosis has previously been associated with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and polyarthritis in dogs. This case suggests that granulocytic ehrlichiosis may be associated with meningitis and that the organisms that cause granulocytic ehrlichiosis may have the same vector as do the spotted fever-group rickettsiae.

Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial; Arachnid Vectors; Chloramphenicol; Dermacentor; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Doxycycline; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ehrlichia; Ehrlichiosis; Hyperesthesia; Male; Meningitis, Bacterial; Neck; Prednisone; Rickettsia rickettsii; Tetracycline; Tick Infestations

Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial; Borrelia burgdorferi Group; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Lyme Disease; Spain; Tetracycline; Tick Infestations

Topics: Animals; Brazil; Chloramphenicol; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; Tetracycline; Tick Infestations; United States

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Borrelia; Camping; Child; Disease Outbreaks; Disease Reservoirs; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Penicillins; Relapsing Fever; Tetracycline; Tick Infestations; Ticks; Washington