Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0017536 (giardiasis)
 1,714 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Results are presented of the laboratory examination of faeces specimens from 20,273 patients with acute diarrhoea. These were household index cases seen in general practice in a London borough during the years 1953-68. An annual average of about 2 per cent of households in the area were affected, but there was considerable fluctuation with year and season. Half the patients were children although only one-fifth of the population at risk was under 15 years of age. The greatest incidence of diarrhoea was among children under 5 years old. Male children, but female adults predominated. Specimens were sent for laboratory diagnosis at the discretion of the general practitioner. The laboratory found some abnormality in nearly a third and there were indications that transmissible infection was involved in about one-fifth of patients. The most common diagnosis was Sonne dysentery (9 per cent) which came in epidemic waves and made its greatest impact among young school children. Microscopy was useful, and giardiasis was diagnosed in 1-4 per cent of index patients. Other parasites were less commonly found. Fatty globules characteristic of an infectious condition we have called 'fatty diarrhoea' were frequently observed by microscopy in stools from young children and occasionally from older persons. Blood or pus cells were seen in less than half the shigella and salmonella infections and in a much smaller proportion of the remainder. A test for occult blood performed on specimens from all patients of 40 years or older was positive, in the absence of visible red cells, in a tenth of these cases. Other studies on the bacteriology of diarrhoea in general practice are referred to and some epidemiological comparisons made. The possible place of unidentified infective agents in the aetiology of undiagnosed diarrhoeas and of 'fatty diarrhoea' is discussed.
 ...
PMID:Diarrhoea in general practice: a sixteen-year report of investigations in a microbiology laboratory, with epidemiological assessment. 109 96

Before 1970, laboratory staff could not only identify the causative organism of acute diarrhea in 20% of cases, but in 1990, they could identify it in 80% of cases. These organisms are either bacteria, virus, or parasites. The bacteria include enterotoxigenic bacteria (Vibrio cholerae, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus) and enteroinvasive bacteria (Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, and Salmonella and Shigella species). The leading cause of death in diarrhea patients is dehydration. Oral rehydration solutions (ORS) can alleviate mild and moderate dehydration regardless of the etiology of the diarrhea or the age of the patient. WHO recommends an ORS containing glucose and various electrolytes which permit salt and water absorption in many cases of acute diarrhea. Due to the possibility of excess salt entering the bloodstream (hypernatremia), some pediatricians do not use the WHO recommended ORS in newborns and young infants. Instead they use 2 parts ORS followed by 1 part water. This treatment is not easy for illiterate mothers to follow, however. Continued breast feeding during diarrheal episodes along with administration of ORS protects not only against dehydration, but also hypernatremia. ORS should not be administered in severe case of dehydration, however. Medical personnel need to administer replacement fluid such as Ringer's Lactate solution intravenously regardless of the age group. Once the initial deficit has been controlled, ORS administration and reintroduction of foods can follow. Antibiotics should only be administered if the medical personnel suspect severe cholera in an endemic area (tetracycline and furazolidone); shigellosis, but 1st the bacteria must be tested to see if the strain is multiple drug resistant (ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, furazolidone, nalidixic acid), and acute amebiasis or giardiasis (metronidazole and tinidazole). Antidiarrheals should not be used.
 ...
PMID:Management of acute diarrhoea. 210 85

The role of Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia as causative agents of paediatric diarrhoea was studied in a southern Indian population. Relationship between infant feeding practices, co-existing malnutrition and the occurrence of intestinal amoebiasis and giardiasis was also examined. The subjects were 361 paediatric patients with acute diarrhoea and 70 hospitalized control children without diarrhoea. Faecal samples from cases and controls were examined for the protozoal pathogens using faecal preservatives, permanent staining and formalin-ether concentration. Bacteriological studies were conducted on 244 of the 361 cases. A high prevalence of invasive amoebiasis was seen in the 0-6 month (12.5%) and 7-12 month (20.3%) age groups. Giardiasis was uncommon under 6 months (2.1%) but occurred in 8-10% of all other age groups. Invasive amoebiasis occurred mainly in children on weaning foods (45.9%) but also [corrected] in exclusively breast-fed children (13.5%). Giardiasis was not seen in exclusively breast-fed infants, but commonly occurred in older children on normal diets. There was no association between amoebiasis or giardiasis and malnutrition.
 ...
PMID:Intestinal amoebiasis and giardiasis in southern Indian infants and children. 226 Jan 73

We reported a clinical case of a child with Giardiasis whose clinical symptoms show some common aspects (acute diarrhea, abdominal pain) with others less known (irido-keratoconjunctivitis) or even rare (acute interstitial nephritis).
 ...
PMID:[Giardiasis: a clinical case with rare symptomatology]. 324 60

Three cases of cryptosporidiosis in children are described. Abdominal pain without concomitant acute diarrhoea, was the main clinical symptom. No other intestinal pathological agent was isolated. All children were males, aged between 25-27 months, living in urban area and with a high socioeconomic level. They went to day nurseries and only one was contacted with home animal. This last child had a previous giardiasis treated with metronidazole. Nutritional status was normal. Neither humoral nor cellular immunodeficiency was detected. Cryptosporidium muris isolation was performed with Ziehl-Neelsen modified technique. All recovered with negativity of abdominal pain and bacteriologic controls, using solely dietetic measures.
 ...
PMID:[Abdominal pain in childhood due to a Cryptosporidium parasitosis]. 375 46

To study the etiology of chronic childhood diarrhea among Nigerian children, 142 patients, aged 6 months to 5 years, with diarrhea for at least 1 month, were evaluated; the study took place during January-December 1983 at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Northern Nigeria. Enteropathogenic agents were identified in stools of 90 (63%) patients. Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica were most commonly detected, representing 41% and 23%, respectively, of all parasitic pathogens. In children with negative stool microscopy, chronic diarrhea was associated with primary lactose intolerance (2 cases), abdominal tuberculosis (2 cases), hyponatremia, low serum albumin, anemia due to sickle cell disease, or Staphylococcus aureus infection. In contrast with chronic diarrhea etiologies reported among children in Europe and North America, infections were the major cause of chronic childhood diarrhea among these children. In general, it is accepted that intestinal infection usually produces acute diarrhea--and that, if the host fails to mount a competent immune response, if there is repeated exposure to infectious agents, or if severe infection damages a substantial proportion of absorptive cells, then severe, protracted diarrhea may result. The high case fatality rate of 9% in this series was associated with specific infectious complications of septicemia, bronchopneumonia, lobar pneumonia and measles. Severe malnutrition also worsened the prognosis in chronic diarrhea. The results indicate that early detection and treatment of amebiasis and giardiasis is a useful approach in the treatment of chronic diarrhea cases among children.
 ...
PMID:Chronic diarrhoea in Nigerian children. 383 11

Parasitic intestinal infections are among the most common in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Although the mortality and morbidity caused by intestinal parasitic infections are relatively low, the absolute number of deaths and cases of disease is rather high in relation to other bacterial and viral infections. Scientific evidence for a causal relationship between intestinal parasitic infections and malnutrition is only fragmentary. The overdispersed frequency distribution of helminth parasites in the human population and the stability of giardiasis in some individuals may help only to define the potential target groups for immediate medical intervention, i.e., those patients heavily parasitized and/or severely malnourished. Long-term preventive intervention should include prenatal control of malnutrition, breast feeding and proper weaning food practices, oral rehydration for acute diarrhea, and immunization and possibly control of parasitic infections. Solid arguments in favor of the latter are expected to emerge from the field studies on intestinal parasitic infections and nutrition designed in 1981 by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund. The results of these studies that will be carried out in several countries should serve as a guide for future parasite control projects and nutritional policies, including supplementary feeding programs.
 ...
PMID:Implications of parasite-nutrition interactions from a world perspective. 669 46

Diagnosing a cause of diarrhea is a challenging undertaking but can be accomplished if a systematic approach is used for evaluation. Pathophysiologic mechanisms of acute diarrhea (eg, Giardia lamblia infection, antibiotic use) are different from those of chronic diarrhea (eg, secretory dysfunction from thyrotoxicosis, lactose or fructose intolerance), so adequate history taking and physical examination are essential in narrowing the diagnosis. Laboratory investigation can then be directed using the information obtained, and the cause of the diarrhea can be established without subjecting the patient to extensive and expensive testing. Undoubtedly, some functional entities that contribute to diarrhea await discovery.
 ...
PMID:Acute and chronic diarrhea. How to keep laboratory testing to a minimum. 807 13

Acute diarrhoeal diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in children. Acute diarrhoea may be watery, where features of dehydration are more prominent or dysenteric, where the stools contain blood and mucous. Rehydration therapy is the key to the management of acute watery diarrhoea, whereas antibiotics play a vital role in the management of acute invasive diarrhoea, particularly shigellosis. Rehydration may be done either by the oral or intravenous routes depending upon the degree of dehydration. Oral rehydration salt solution of WHO formula is recommended for oral rehydration therapy (ORT). Ringer's lactate is the ideal intravenous fluid for correction of severe dehydration due to diarrhoea. Antibiotic therapy is beneficial for cholera and shigellosis only. Antiparasitic agents are indicated only if amoebiasis or giardiasis is present. Antidiarrhoeals are of no benefit for the treatment of acute diarrhoea. Appropriate feeding during diarrhoea is recommended with beneficial outcome.
 ...
PMID:Management of acute diarrhoea. 878 11

We review the pathophysiology of intestinal water and electrolyte transport leading to diarrhoea, the currently available pharmacological strategies for its treatment, and the economic implications of such treatments. Diarrhoea occurs most frequently and is associated with highest mortality in children under 5. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is the cornerstone of its management. The safety and efficacy of ORT in the prevention of death from dehydration, both in field and also in hospital settings, are now well established. Because it is also inexpensive, ORT is widely applicable worldwide. More recently, rice-based ORT has emerged, based on well known traditional remedies for diarrhoea in southeast Asia and the Far East. Rice-based ORT has the advantage of being more culturally acceptable, readily available even in rural homes in developing countries, and is more effective in reducing stool output and the duration of diarrhoea, compared with conventional glucose-electrolyte solutions such as World Health Organization ORT. For infants, the well known antidiarrhoeal properties of human milk needs emphasis for a variety of reasons including economic ones. Data concerning the economic benefits to a nations' health budget as a result of nationwide implementation of oral rehydration solution (ORS) use are limited. Available data from individual centres in developing countries, if projected to national level, would incur considerable economic advantage. Except for a few notable infections such as shigellosis, cholera, amoebiasis and giardiasis, the widespread use of antibiotics in acute diarrhoea, still a common practice in many developing countries, has no proven value and may be detrimental. The economic implications of antibiotic abuse in the treatment of diarrhoea in developing countries is enormous. Despite the availability of a wide spectrum of pharmacological agents for diarrhoea reviewed in this article, only a few such agents are of proven clinical efficacy: corticosteroids, aminosalicylates and immunosuppressants in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and opioid derivatives such as loperamide which may be useful in protracted diarrhoea in children and in disorders where rapid gastrointestinal transit is the main cause of diarrhoea. Opioids are not recommended for acute infective diarrhoea in childhood. Octreotide, a somatostatin analogue, is reported to be useful in the treatment of secretory diarrhoea due to noninfective causes and in the treatment of intractable diarrhoea associated with AIDS. Its high cost and need for parenteral administration prevent its wider application.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Pharmacoeconomics of the therapy of diarrhoeal disease. 1015 Jan 56


1 2 Next >>