Psittacosis differential diagnosis

Psittacosis Microchapters
Home
Patient Information
Overview
Historical Perspective
Classification
Pathophysiology
Causes
Differentiating Psittacosis from other Diseases
Epidemiology and Demographics
Risk Factors
Screening
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
Diagnosis
History and Symptoms
Physical Examination
Laboratory Findings
Chest X Ray
CT
MRI
Echocardiography or Ultrasound
Other Diagnostic Studies
Treatment
Medical Therapy
Surgery
Primary Prevention
Secondary Prevention
Cost-Effectiveness of Therapy
Future or Investigational Therapies
Case Studies
Case #1
Psittacosis differential diagnosis On the Web
Most recent articles
cited articles
Review articles
CME Programs
Powerpoint slides
Images
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Psittacosis differential diagnosis All Images X-rays Echo & Ultrasound CT Images MRI
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse
NICE Guidance
FDA on Psittacosis differential diagnosis
CDC on Psittacosis differential diagnosis
Psittacosis differential diagnosis in the news
Blogs on Psittacosis differential diagnosis
Psittacosis
Risk calculators and risk factors for Psittacosis differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aditya Govindavarjhulla, M.B.B.S. [2]Omodamola Aje B.Sc, M.D. [3]

Overview

Psittacosis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause atypical pneumonia and febrile illness without localizing signs and extrapulmonary manifestations such as gastroenteritis, hepatitis, meningitis, or encephalitis. The three main diseases to differentiate psittacosis from are Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Legionella infection, as they tend to have similar clinical manifestations that can only be differentiated by taking appropriate histories and laboratory investigations. There are other conditions to watch out for which may also present similarly to psittacosis.

Differentiating Psittacosis from other Diseases

The following diseases must be differentiated from psittacosis based on the presentation of cough, fever, myalgia, and shortness of breath.

• C. pneumoniae pneumonia
• M. pneumoniae pneumonia
• L. pneumophila infection

• Influenza
• Endocarditis
• Septicemia
• Vasculitis
• Coxiella burnetii infection
• Leptospirosis
• Brucellosis

Differentiating psittacosis from other diseases

Disease	Clinical Manifestations							Lab findings			Imaging findings	Main treatment
	Cough	Sputum	Dyspnea	Sore throat	Headache	Confusion	Diarrhea	Hyponatremia	Leukopenia	Abnormal Liver function tests
Psittacosis	++	-	+	-	+++	+	Minimal	-	+	-	No changes seen	Doxycycline
C.pneumoniae pneumonia	+	+	+	+++	++	+	-	-	-	-	Minimal changes observed	Doxycycline, azithromycin
M. pneumoniae pneumonia	++	++	++	-	-	-	-	-	-	+	Bronchial wall thickening Centrilobular nodules Ground-glass attenuation Consolidation	Doxycycline
L. pneumophila infection	+	+++	+++	-	+	++	+	++	+	++	Often multifocal	Doxycycline
Influenza	++	++	++	++	++	+/-	+/-	-	-	-	Bi-basal air-space opacities Perihilar reticular and alveolar infiltrates	Zanamivir, oseltamivir
Endocarditis	++	++	+	-	-	-	-	-	+/-	+/-	Hazy opacities at lung bases bilaterally	Vancomycin
Coxiella burnetii infection	++	-	+	+/-	-	+/-	Minimal	-	+/-	=/-	Segmental or lobar opacification Occasional pleural effusions	Doxycycline
Leptospirosis	++	+	++	+	+	++	-	+++			Multiple ill-defined nodules in both lungs.	Doxycycline, azithromycin, amoxicillin
Brucellosis	++	-	+	-	++	+	-	-/+	+/-	+/-	Soft miliary mottling Parenchymal nodules Consolidation Chronic diffuse changes Hilar or paratracheal lymphadenopathy Pneumothorax	Doxycycline, rifampin

Key;

+, occurs in some cases

++, occurs in many cases,

+++, occurs frequently