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Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za... Oct 2018To investigate the changes of brain CT imaging in patients with cerebral cysticercosis during the period of anti-cysticercus chemotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the changes of brain CT imaging in patients with cerebral cysticercosis during the period of anti-cysticercus chemotherapy.
METHODS
A total of 380 inpatients that were conformed to the practical diagnostic criteria of cerebral cysticercosis were enrolled in this study in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences from May 2010 to May 2015. All the patients were given anti-cysticercus chemotherapy (albendazole and praziquantel). All the patients received brain CT scan, and of which 210 received enhanced scan. The data of CT imaging were systematically reviewed.
RESULTS
Before the treatment, the CT images of the patients showed single or multiple small cystic (s) with low density and small nodule-like cephalomere with high density. The re-examinations of CT showed that there were 81.58% (310/380) of the patients whose low density foci were completely absorbed, there were 16.32% (62/380) of the patients whose foci were mostly absorbed, and there were 2.11% (8/380) of the patients whose foci were calcified. Along with the prolongation of treatment time, the side effects were gradually reduced, and in the third course of treatment, the foci were absorbed or calcified in most of the patients.
CONCLUSIONS
CT examination can diagnose the lesion site, range and classification of cerebral cysticercosis, and can evaluate the effect of the therapy according to the changes of CT imaging during the period of anti-cysticercus chemotherapy.
Topics: Albendazole; Animals; Brain; Cysticercus; Humans; Neurocysticercosis; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 30567023
DOI: 10.16250/j.32.1374.2018016 -
Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease 2020Schistosoma japonicum is endemic in the Philippines, China, and Indonesia, and is the third-most common schistosoma species. The infection can be asymptomatic for years...
BACKGROUND
Schistosoma japonicum is endemic in the Philippines, China, and Indonesia, and is the third-most common schistosoma species. The infection can be asymptomatic for years but, if left untreated, can lead to irreversible complications.
METHOD
We report the results of a systematic review of the literature on imported S. japonicum infection and describe two previously unpublished cases diagnosed in Filipino migrants in Italy.
RESULTS
Twenty-five imported cases of S. japonicum schistosomiasis were retrieved. All patients but one were migrants. Most subjects acquired the infection in Philippines (n = 18, 72%). Median age at diagnosis was 46 years. Median period of residence in non-endemic countries before diagnosis was 14.5 years. Cases of prevalent hepatosplenic involvement were 10 (40%), those with prevalent intestinal involvement were 10 (40%), whereas five (20%) had overlapping manifestations. Ten patients suffered from cirrhosis; two underwent liver transplantation. Three patients presented with acute abdomen due to intestinal complications, leading to explorative laparotomy. In all cases, but one, the diagnosis was based on a histological examination of biopsy specimen, revealing S. japonicum ova. Seventeen patients were treated with praziquantel, and in three of them, possible treatment failures occurred.
CONCLUSIONS
S. japonicum infection is uncommonly reported in non-endemic areas, but is probably underestimated because of a low threshold awareness of clinicians and unavailability of specific diagnostic tools. Viable S. japonicum adults may persist for decades, indicating that migrants or travellers previously exposed in areas with high-risk areas can harbour viable worms and deserve treatment.
Topics: Adult; Animals; Humans; Italy; Philippines; Schistosoma japonicum; Schistosomiasis japonica; Transients and Migrants
PubMed: 31561021
DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2019.101496 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Jul 2020The Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research (SCORE) was funded in 2008 to improve the evidence base for control and elimination of schistosomiasis-better... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research (SCORE) was funded in 2008 to improve the evidence base for control and elimination of schistosomiasis-better understanding of the systemic morbidities experienced by children in schistosomiasis-endemic areas and the response of these morbidities to treatment, being essential for updating WHO guidelines for mass drug administration (MDA) in endemic areas. This article summarizes the SCORE studies that aimed to gauge the impact of MDA-based treatment on schistosomiasis-related morbidities. Morbidity cohort studies were embedded in the SCORE's larger field studies of gaining control of schistosomiasis in Kenya and Tanzania. Following MDA, cohort children had less undernutrition, less portal vein dilation, and increased quality of life in Year 5 compared with baseline. We also conducted a pilot study of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC-2) in conjunction with the Kenya gaining control study, which demonstrated beneficial effects of treatment on classroom behavior. In addition, the SCORE's Rapid Answers Project performed systematic reviews of previously available data, providing two meta-analyses related to morbidity. The first documented children's infection-related deficits in school attendance and achievement and in formal tests of learning and memory. The second showed that greater reductions in egg output following drug treatment correlates significantly with reduced odds of most morbidities. Overall, these SCORE morbidity studies provided convincing evidence to support the use of MDA to improve the health of school-aged children in endemic areas. However, study findings also support the need to use enhanced metrics to fully assess and better control schistosomiasis-associated morbidity.
Topics: Adolescent; Animals; Child; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Kenya; Male; Mass Drug Administration; Morbidity; Parasite Egg Count; Praziquantel; Prevalence; Schistosoma; Schistosoma haematobium; Schistosoma mansoni; Schistosomiasis haematobia; Schistosomiasis mansoni; Schools; Tanzania
PubMed: 32400348
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0830