Hepatic parenchymal dysfunction in Schistosoma japonicum infection.

Decompensated liver disease was investigated in 94 unselected Filipino patients sequentially hospitalized with Schistosoma japonicum infection. Liver damage was objectively scored from 3 (none) to a maximum of 10 (severe damage with encephalopathy) using a modified Pugh-Child grading system. Liver parenchymal dysfunction occurred in 52% of patients and was severe in 21% (hepatic encephalopathy or markedly prolonged prothrombin time).

Praziquantel in treatment of cerebral schistosomiasis.

The effectiveness of standard single-day praziquantel treatment (60 mg/kg) was prospectively evaluated in nine patients with seizures caused by cerebral Schistosoma japonicum infection. Eight patients were cured when discharged from the study, an average of 6 months after receiving praziquantel. They were seizure-free in the absence of anticonvulsants, their electroencephalograms were normal, and no major abnormalities could be detected on neurological examination.

Nonresolution of an amebic liver abscess after parasitologic cure.

A 43-year-old Filipino male was admitted to a Manila hospital with a 1 month history of epigastric pain and fever, and was found to have a palpable epigastric mass. Computerized tomography revealed a large hepatic abscess which serologically was shown to be amebic. Chemotherapy resulted in clinical cure and an initial reduction in size of the liver abscess.

CT-guided closed biopsy of the spine.

Twenty-two patients with mass or destructive lesions at different levels of the spine underwent closed needle biopsy guided by computed tomography (CT). Eighteen of the 22 specimens obtained were sufficient for a histologic diagnosis. In one, normal bone tissue obtained was not consistent with the clinical and radiographic picture, resulting in a false negative diagnosis.