Whipple's disease: a rare disease revisited.

Since the original postmortem diagnosis of "intestinal lipodystrophy" by Dr. George H. Whipple in 1907, the complexities of Whipple's disease have been elucidated through case reports.

Prophylaxis for travelers' diarrhea.

Travelers' diarrhea affects more than 10 million people per year and is usually contracted through the ingestion of microbially contaminated food or water. Although most cases resolve in 3 to 5 days, chronic conditions are associated with acute infections. Prevention encompasses avoidance of ingesting contaminated products and, in certain situations, taking prophylactic medications.

Aspergillosis in liver transplant recipients: successful treatment and improved survival using a multistep approach.

Background: Invasive aspergillosis is a life-threatening complication in liver transplant recipients, with a reported mortality rate of more than 90%. Treatment is difficult, and no single agent is uniformly effective in treating this patient population.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all fungal cultures from 200 liver transplant patients between 1996 and 1999 at a single tertiary referral center.

Influenza infection in patients before and after liver transplantation.

Infection with influenza virus poses specific problems in pediatric and adult liver transplant recipients, both before and after liver transplantation. These include a higher rate of pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications, development of rejection with graft dysfunction, prolonged shedding of influenza virus, and increased drug-resistance. Hepatic decompensation may occur during influenza infection in patients with cirrhosis.

Orthopaedic infections.

Patients with orthopaedic infections may require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Necrotizing fasciitis and clostridial myonecrosis (gas gangrene) are serious soft tissue infections that may cause life-threatening complications. Patients suffering from infectious arthritis, osteomyelitis, or prosthetic joint infections may be seen in the ICU as a result of a previous injury, surgery, or delayed infectious processes.