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CHRONIC STRONGYLOIDIASIS IN TASMANIAN VETERANS—CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS BY THE USE OF A SCREENING INDEX
Author(s) -
OLIVER N. W. J.,
ROWBOTTOM D. J.,
SEXTON P.,
GOLDSMID J. M.,
BYARD R,
TOOTH M.,
THOMSON K. S.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1989.tb00306.x
Subject(s) - strongyloides stercoralis , medicine , strongyloidiasis , mebendazole , eosinophilia , serology , helminthiasis , abdominal pain , strongyloides , rash , gastroenterology , dermatology , surgery , helminths , immunology , ecology , antibody , biology
Chronic infection with Strongyloides stercoralis presents a diagnostic problem because of the low recovery of the organism from stools and the insensitivity of current serological tests. Of 150 former Far East POWs, 26 (17%) had S. stercoralis in stools. The clinical features in 18 stool‐positive patients were compared to those in 24 stool‐negative patients and showed that strongyloidiasis was associated with a higher frequency of alteration in bowel habit, upper abdominal discomfort, rash and eosinophilia. On the basis of these features, a screening index was devised which largely separated stool‐positive and stool‐negative patients and led to helpful therapy in three of four patients with compatible symptoms who lacked a definitive diagnosis. Treatment with thiabendazole appeared to be superior to treatment with mebendazole.