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Biomedical subjects

E R Chen

Publications and source records attributed to E R Chen.

82 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Epidemiologic studies of eosinophilic meningitis in southern Taiwan.

A study of the epidemiologic characteristics of 125 cases of eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis, probably caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which occurred in southern Taiwan in 1968 and 1969 revealed a close association of the disease with the rainy season. In contrast to findings in other geographic areas, most such cases in this study occurred among children. A higher attack rate was observed among aborigines than among descendants of mainland Chinese. Most patients had eaten the giant African snail, Achatina fulica, prior to their illness and this mollusc was commonly found infected with third-stage larvae of A. cantonensis. However, in almost all instances the snail was eaten after it had been thoroughly cooked and examination of cooked snail meat revealed only dead larvae. It is suspected that patients became infected by inadvertently ingesting A. cantonensis larvae liberated when the snails were prepared for consumption.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1972

Distribution of Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale in Liberia.

In the first country-wide survey of hookworm infection in Liberia, diagnosis by test-tube filter-paper cultivation revealed a prevalence of more than 90%. This sensitive technique also permitted differential species determination. Necator americanus was found to occur in all regions and in a high proportion of the persons examined. Ancylostoma duodenale was mainly confined to a narrow coastal belt, and usually parasitized individuals harbouring N. americanus as well. The average number of eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) of infected individuals was lowest in the population of the hinterland. During the latter part of the studies a modified test-tube filter-paper cultivation technique was used in combination with dilution counting to obtain data on intensity of infection separately for the 2 species. For N. americanus there was little regional difference in the intensity of infection, but the EPG for A. duodenale was much higher in people living in the coastal area.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Eosinophilic meningitis and meningoencephalitis in children].

Eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis is a disease commonly seen in Taiwan, especially in children during the summer rainy season. Most of the cases reported in other countries were adults and their clinical manifestations were different from children. Studies on special clinical characteristics among 87 children in Taiwan were performed. Thirty-eight (43.7%) were male and 49 (56.3%) females, and 88.5% could be traced to a history of contact with the intermediate host, the giant African snail, Achatina fulica, which plays a major role in transmission. The incubation period (average: 13.0 days) was shorter in children than in adults (average: 16.5 days). Near thirty percent (28.7%) of the total cases, the clinical form was meningoencephalitis, which was higher than in adult cases seen in Thailand (5%). The most common clinical symptom was fever (92.0%), followed by vomiting and headache. The percentages of sixth and seventh cranial neuropathy associated with the disease were 17.2% and 11.5% respectively. Ophthalmologic fundoscopy showed that 23.0% with papilledema which was significantly higher than seen in adults (12%) in Thailand. Most of the cases in this study had peripheral leukocytosis (above 10,000/mm3) and eosinophilia (above 10%); the percentages were 83.9% and 85.1%, respectively. The worm recovery rate from cerebrospinal fluid by lumbar puncture of 87 cases was 43.7%; 141 worms were collected from one female patient using a pumping method. In the recent 3 years, levamisole was used clinically with good result.

Adolescent↗