Title
Hepatic amebiasis among patients in a public teaching hospital
Date Issued
01 January 1998
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Shandera W.X.
Bollam P.
Hashmey R.H.
Athey P.A.
Greenberg S.B.
Baylor College of Medicine
Publisher(s)
Southern Medical Association
Abstract
The increase in immigration to the United States is associated with diseases, such as amebiasis, that are endemic to developing countries. We retrospectively reviewed 49 public-hospital patients with hepatic amebiasis occurring between 1985 and 1995. Most patients were immigrants (47) from Latin America (43), male (43), and young (mean age, 39.8 years). Symptoms noted by more than half were abdominal pain and fever. Ultrasonography showed single lesions in 70% and right-sided involvement in 85%. Serologies against Entamoeba histolytica were noted in 86%. After treatment, the median interval from admission to defervescence was 2 days, to normalization of white cell count 3 days, and to resolution of abdominal pain 4 days. Morbidity (one case of pericarditis) and mortality (one death in a cirrhotic man) were low. Hepatic amebiasis continues to be diagnosed in the United States, primarily among Hispanic and Asian immigrants. When appropriately considered, current diagnostic and therapeutic modalities result in rapid improvement and excellent outcome.
Start page
829
End page
837
Volume
91
Issue
9
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Gastroenterología, Hepatología Enfermedades infecciosas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-0031719674
PubMed ID
Source
Southern Medical Journal
ISSN of the container
00384348
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus