What Is Q Fever?
8. Prognosis
Since acute Q fever is a self-limiting disease, proper diagnosis and treatment means that there is an excellent prognosis. Although 2% to 4% of patients require hospitalization, more than 50% of Q fever patients are asymptomatic. Among symptomatic patients, the mortality rate is less than 1%. In chronic Q fever, prolonged antimicrobial therapy with care from an infectious disease specialist will be required.
Despite adequate therapy, chronic Q fever has frequent relapses with mortality rates that can exceed 60%. The commonest cause of chronic Q fever is endocarditis. Without treatment, endocarditis is almost always fatal. With treatment, the overall mortality rate decreases to between 1% to 25%.
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