Abstract
OBJECTIVE:Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem. This was a descriptive and retrospective study of 42 patients with a severe form of schistosomiasis who were admitted to the outpatient clinic of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil.METHODS:A data collection questionnaire was designed from the patient charts, and the following variables were evaluated: age, sex, place of birth, occupation, signs and symptoms of schistosomiasis, data from laboratory and imaging examinations, data regarding treatment outcomes, and the existence of comorbidities. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 15.0 and Microsoft Excel 2003 software. The significance levels of the tests were fixed, accepting 5% type 1 error (α=0.05). Since this was a retrospective observational study, not all data were available for analysis.RESULTS:The mean age of the patients was 48.24 years; 57.1% were male. Statistically significant associations were observed between splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia (p=0.004) and between splenomegaly and leukopenia (p=0.046); however, only 4.5% of the patients had esophageal hemorrhage. Some patients received a specific treatment; of those, 42% took praziquantel, and 35.4% took oxamniquine. Nonspecific drug therapy was given as follows: 65% received propranolol, 90% omeprazole, and 43.6% aluminum hydroxide. The other treatments were as follows: 92.9% of patients underwent endoscopic treatment, 85% received sclerotherapy, and 62.5% used elastic bandages.CONCLUSION:This preliminary study presents a multidisciplinary outpatient follow-up associated with endoscopic and drug treatments that may be effective at preventing bleeding.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis is endemic in 75 countries, constituting a great public health problem, and it is estimated that 230 million people are infected worldwide
700 million people live in areas where they are at risk of infection with one or more of the following six species that may infect humans: Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma intercalatum, Schistosoma japonicum, Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma mekongi and Schistosoma malayensis [1]
We evaluated patients with signs of portosystemic hypertension and an absence of growths, either by splenectomy and/or decreased liver size due to advanced periportal fibrosis
Summary
Schistosomiasis is endemic in 75 countries, constituting a great public health problem, and it is estimated that 230 million people are infected worldwide.
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