Lead induced anaemia due to traditional Indian medicine: a case report.
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Lead intoxication in adults without occupational exposure is a rare and unexpected event. The case of a western European is reported who had severe anaemia after ingestion of several ayurvedic drugs, obtained during a trip to India. Laboratory findings showed high blood lead concentrations, an increased urinary lead concentration, and an increased urinary excretion of delta-aminolaevulinic acid. Also, slightly increased urinary concentrations of arsenic and silver were found. Physicians should be aware that with growing international travel and rising self medication with drugs from uncontrolled sources the risk of drug induced poisoning could increase in the future. (+info)
Oral rehydration therapy plus loperamide versus loperamide alone in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea.
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Eighty United States students in Mexico received either loperamide (an initial dose of 4 mg, followed by 2 mg after passage of each unformed stool, up to 8 mg/d; 40 patients) or loperamide (at the same dosage schedule) plus an oral rehydration therapy (ORT) preparation (500 mL initially, followed by 250 mL after each subsequently passed unformed stool, up to 1,000 mL per 24 hours; 40 patients). The ORT preparation was a modification of the World Health Organization-recommended solution, adjusted to a sodium concentration of 60 mEq/L. All treatments were given for 48 hours. The study demonstrated equivalent clinical responses with regard to diminishment of diarrhea or subjective findings such as abdominal pain/cramps, headache, dry mouth, dizziness, or thirst. Stool number (by form) and specific gravity of urine postenrollment were similar in the groups. Administration of loperamide plus ORT for the management of traveler's diarrhea, in cases in which subjects were encouraged to drink ad libitum, offered no benefit over administration of loperamide alone. (+info)
Case studies in international travelers.
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Family physicians should be alert for unusual diseases in patients who are returning from foreign travel. Malaria is a potentially fatal disease that can be acquired by travelers to certain areas of the world, primarily developing nations. Transmitted through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito, malaria usually presents with fever and a vague systemic illness. The disease is diagnosed by demonstration of Plasmodium organisms on a specially prepared blood film. Travelers can also acquire amebic infections, which may cause dysentery or, in some instances, liver abscess. Amebiasis is diagnosed by finding Entamoeba histolytica cysts or trophozoites in the stool. Invasive amebic infections are generally treated with metronidazole followed by iodoquinol or paromomycin. Cutaneous larva migrans is acquired by skin contact with hookworm larvae in the soil. The infection is characterized by the development of itchy papules followed by serpiginous or linear streaks. Cutaneous larva migrans is treated with invermectin or albendazole. Case studies are presented. (+info)
Record numbers of Irish women visit Britain for abortion.(36/2248)
Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli as a cause of traveler's diarrhea: clinical response to ciprofloxacin.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the role of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) in the development of traveler's diarrhea and the clinical response of patients with EAEC diarrhea following treatment with ciprofloxacin. Sixty-four travelers with diarrhea and no other recognized enteropathogen were enrolled in treatment studies in Jamaica and Mexico from July 1997 to July 1998. EAEC was isolated from 29 travelers (45.3%). There was a significant reduction in the duration of posttreatment diarrhea in the 16 patients treated with ciprofloxacin, as compared with that in the 13 patients who received placebo (mean of 35.3 versus 55.5 hours; P = .049). There was a nonsignificant reduction in the mean number of unformed stools passed during the 72 hours after enrollment in the ciprofloxacin-treated group (5.6), as compared with that in the placebo group (7.5) (P = .128). This study provides additional evidence that EAEC should be considered as a cause of antibiotic-responsive traveler's diarrhea. (+info)
Rhodesian trypanosomiasis in a splenectomized patient.
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We report the first apparent case of a splenectomized individual who developed severe trypanosomiasis with central nervous system involvement. The patient was a 41-year-old man who participated in an east African safari. Upon his return to the United States, the patient presented with an infection with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense that was treated successfully with suramin and melarsoprol. The onset of symptoms, laboratory studies, and disease progression did not differ from previously reported cases in the literature. The role of the spleen in trypanosomiasis is not well understood and the few reports available describe only animal models. This report suggests that asplenia had no apparent effect on the onset of symptoms and overall severity of illness. Further studies are necessary to ultimately define the role of the spleen in trypanosomiasis. (+info)
Medical advice for commercial air travelers.
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Family physicians are often asked to advise patients who are preparing to travel. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 has enabled more passengers with medical disabilities to choose air travel. All domestic U.S. airlines are required to carry basic (but often limited) medical equipment, although several physiologic stresses associated with flight may predispose travelers with underlying medical conditions to require emergency care. Recommendations for passengers with respiratory, cardiac or postsurgical conditions must be individualized and should be based on objective testing measures. Specific advice for patients with diabetes, postsurgical or otolaryngologic conditions may make air travel less hazardous for these persons. Air travel should be delayed after scuba diving to minimize the chance of developing decompression sickness. Although no quick cure for jet lag exists, several simple suggestions may make travel across time zones more comfortable. (+info)
Epidemiology of measles--United States, 1998.
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During 1998, a provisional total of 100 confirmed measles cases was reported to CDC by state and local health departments, representing a record low number of cases and 28% fewer than the 138 cases reported in 1997. This report describes the epidemiology of measles during 1998, which suggests that measles is no longer an indigenous disease in the United States. (+info)