Rocky Mountain spotted fever chest x-ray

A chest x-ray may be helpful in the diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Findings on a chest x-ray indicating pulmonary edema may be suggestive of a Rocky Mountain spotted fever infection.

• A chest x-ray may be useful in a suspected Rocky Mountain spotted fever case.
• A retrospective study of 70 RMSF cases demonstrated that 27% showed abnormalities.^[1].
• Of those 27%, more than 50% showed a pulmonary edema pattern.
• Although this small study did show some pulmonary involvement with the Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases, routine radiographs are not usually a part of the general diagnostic work-up unless there is a specific reason for one.^[1].