{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T16:33:06Z","timestamp":1788021186922,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"Microbiology Society","issue":"11","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2008,11,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a tick-borne acute febrile disease caused by <jats:italic>Rickettsia conorii<\/jats:italic> and characterized by fever, maculo-papular rash and a black eschar at the site of the tick bite (\u2018tache noir\u2019). We describe the case of a 58-year-old man affected by MSF who developed atrial fibrillation. The patient presented himself to the hospital after 7\u2005days of fever, malaise and severe headache. Cardiac auscultation revealed a chaotic heart rhythm and an electrocardiogram confirmed atrial fibrillation with a fast ventricular response. Diagnosis of MSF was made after the appearance of a maculo-papular skin rash, and treatment with oral doxycycline was started. An immunofluorescence antibody test confirmed <jats:italic>R. conorii<\/jats:italic> infection. The patient recovered after 7\u2005days of treatment. Cardiac arrhythmia is a rare complication of MSF. Inflammation may play a role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation. <jats:italic>R. conorii<\/jats:italic> is an intracellular bacterium which could trigger atrial fibrillation. Our patient was previously healthy and had no reported history of cardiac disease. This suggests that heart function should be monitored in MSF patients even in the absence of underlying risk factors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1099\/jmm.0.2008\/002162-0","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2008,10,16]],"date-time":"2008-10-16T19:24:31Z","timestamp":1224185071000},"page":"1424-1426","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Atrial fibrillation in Mediterranean spotted fever"],"prefix":"10.1099","volume":"57","author":[{"given":"Claudia","family":"Colomba","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Universit\u00e0 di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Saporito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Universit\u00e0 di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pietro","family":"Colletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Patologie Emergenti, Clinica delle Malattie Infettive, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico \u2018Paolo Giaccone\u2019, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Mazzola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Patologie Emergenti, Clinica delle Malattie Infettive, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico \u2018Paolo Giaccone\u2019, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raffaella","family":"Rubino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Universit\u00e0 di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diego","family":"Pampinella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Universit\u00e0 di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucina","family":"Titone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze per la Promozione della Salute, Sezione di Malattie Infettive, Universit\u00e0 di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"345","reference":[{"key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1093\/eurheartj\/ehi645","article-title":"Is atrial fibrillation an inflammatory disorder?","volume":"27","author":"Boos","year":"2006","journal-title":"Eur Heart J"},{"key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1108","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-0691.2004.01019.x","article-title":"ESCMID study group report. 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A model of endothelial-target rickettsiosis","volume":"70","author":"Walker","year":"1994","journal-title":"Lab Invest"}],"container-title":["Journal of Medical Microbiology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.microbiologyresearch.org\/content\/journal\/jmm\/10.1099\/jmm.0.2008\/002162-0?crawler=true","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,28]],"date-time":"2020-09-28T05:20:57Z","timestamp":1601270457000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.microbiologyresearch.org\/content\/journal\/jmm\/10.1099\/jmm.0.2008\/002162-0"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2008,11,1]]},"references-count":11,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2008,11,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1099\/jmm.0.2008\/002162-0","relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-2615","1473-5644"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-2615","type":"print"},{"value":"1473-5644","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2008,11,1]]}}}