Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in an African setting.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C F Kiire.
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A patient with severe hypoglycaemia complicating cerebral malaria is reported. No other recognized cause of hypoglycaemia was detected during life or at autopsy. This case adds to the existing evidence that, through several possible mechanisms, cerebral malaria can give rise to life-threatening hypoglycaemia.
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Ultrasound (U/S) imaging of liver was used in a prospective study of 62 consecutive patients with oesophageal varices in the central hospitals in Harare; 50 had haematemesis. U/S changes of Symmers's periportal fibrosis (PPF) were graded from mild (grade 1) to gross (grade 4). 46 patients (74%) had U/S features of PPF: 7 were grade 1, 7 grade 2, 29 grade 3, and 3 grade 4. Patients with PPF were more likely to have bled (P less than 0.05) and were less likely to have ascites (P less than 0.05) than those without PPF. Spleen or liver size or grade of varices did not correlate with the U/S grade of PPF. Rectal snips were positive for schistosome ova in 19 of 28 cases with PPF and 2 of 7 cases without PPF. Patients with PPF were more likely than those without PPF (P less than 0.005) or controls (P less than 0.0001) to have spent their childhood in an area of Zimbabwe with a high prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni. Schistosomal PPF appears to be a common cause of portal hypertension in Zimbabwe. It is strongly associated with childhood spent in areas of high S. mansoni prevalence.
Infection with the microsporidian parasite Enterocytozoon bieneusi may be a major cause of prolonged diarrhoea in individuals also infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The parasite has been reported from Europe, Australia and the Americas, with a prevalence of 7-29%. Faecal specimens were obtained from 202 adults and 106 children in Harare, Zimbabwe, all of whom were in hospital and had diarrhoea. HIV serology was available for 119 adults: 106 were HIV seropositive. There were clinical grounds for suspecting HIV infection in 23 of the remaining patients. E. bieneusi was identified in specimens from 13/129 patients (10%) for whom HIV infection was indicated by serology and/or clinical signs, 1/60 patients (2%) of uncertain HIV status, and 0/13 seronegative patients. 18/106 children were HIV seropositive and 12 were not; HIV serology was not available for the remainder, but 19 were strongly suspected of being infected with HIV on clinical criteria. E. bieneusi was not detected in samples from any child. As is common in Zimbabwe, the prevalence of other parasites in faecal specimens was low and, amongst patients with proven or suspected HIV infection, E. bieneusi was the most prevalent parasite identified, particularly in patients with diarrhoea of over 4 weeks duration.
Biopsy and serum specimens were obtained from 95 patients undergoing endoscopy at the University of Zimbabwe Medical School. Common presenting features were epigastric pain, bleeding and dyspepsia. Ulcers were detected in 16 patients (17%), and were more common in men (24%) than in women (7%). Histological examination of biopsies showed that all 95 patients had spiral-shaped organisms that were indistinguishable microscopically from Helicobacter pylori, though the numbers of organisms varied considerably. There was evidence that the degree of inflammation in the mucosa was related to the numbers of H. pylori-like organisms (HPLO) present. Fifty-one biopsy specimens (55%) gave a positive rapid urease test (RUT), with colour change occurring within 4 h. In all but one case, the gastric mucosa from these patients contained moderate to numerous HPLO. We defined the 'gold standard' of H. pylori-associated gastritis as the presence of both moderate to numerous HPLO and moderate to severe inflammation in the gastric mucosa. Using these criteria, RUT had a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 68%. Sera from 92 patients were tested for immunoglobulin G antibodies reactive with a glycine-extract antigen of H. pylori, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera giving an indeterminate reaction in the ELISA were also tested by Western blotting. In all, 36 sera (39%) gave a positive ELISA or Western blot reaction. There was poor correlation between serology and RUT results, with only 57% of biopsy specimens from seropositive patients giving a positive RUT, compared with 45% from seronegative patients. Positive serology was found in only 35 patients (61%) with histological evidence of H. pylori-associated gastritis, and the specificity of the test was only 54%. When used in combination with the RUT result, however, 79% of patients with a positive RUT and positive serology had histological evidence of H. pylori-associated gastritis. There was a general trend for increased seroprevalence in patients with mild to moderate atypia. These findings indicate that serology, using an antigen derived from the type strain of H. pylori, is unreliable in detecting H. pylori infection in Zimbabwe. Current studies are aimed at characterizing antigens from organisms isolated from Zimbabwean patients.
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