Severity: Warning
Message: file_get_contents(https://...@gmail.com&api_key=61f08fa0b96a73de8c900d749fcb997acc09): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Filename: helpers/my_audit_helper.php
Line Number: 143
Backtrace:
File: /var/www/html/application/helpers/my_audit_helper.php
Line: 143
Function: file_get_contents
File: /var/www/html/application/helpers/my_audit_helper.php
Line: 209
Function: simplexml_load_file_from_url
File: /var/www/html/application/helpers/my_audit_helper.php
Line: 994
Function: getPubMedXML
File: /var/www/html/application/helpers/my_audit_helper.php
Line: 3134
Function: GetPubMedArticleOutput_2016
File: /var/www/html/application/controllers/Detail.php
Line: 574
Function: pubMedSearch_Global
File: /var/www/html/application/controllers/Detail.php
Line: 488
Function: pubMedGetRelatedKeyword
File: /var/www/html/index.php
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Function: require_once
Background: Skin infections with ulceration are a major health problem in countries of the south Pacific region. Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue and diagnosed by the presence of skin ulcers and a reactive syphilis serology, is one major cause, but this infection can be confused clinically with ulcers due to other causative agents. We investigated T pallidum pertenue and another bacterium known to cause skin infections in the Pacific islands-Haemophilus ducreyi-as causes of skin ulceration in a yaws-endemic region. Additionally, we identified specific signs and symptoms associated with these causative agents of cutaneous ulcers and compared these findings with laboratory-based diagnoses.
Methods: We did a prospective cohort study of five yaws-endemic villages (total population 3117 people) during a yaws elimination campaign in Papua New Guinea in April, 2013. We enrolled all consenting patients with chronic moist or exudative skin ulcers. We undertook a detailed dermatological assessment, syphilis serology, and PCR on lesional swabs to detect the presence of T pallidum pertenue and H ducreyi. Patients with PCR-confirmed bacterial infections were included in a comparative analysis of demographics and clinical features.
Findings: Full outcome data were available for 90 people with skin ulcers. Of these patients, 17 (19%) had negative results in all molecular tests and were therefore excluded from the comparative analyses. A bacterial cause was identified in 73 (81%) participants-either H ducreyi (n=42), T pallidum pertenue (yaws; n=19), or coinfection with both organisms (dual infection; n=12). The demographic characteristics of the patients infected with yaws and with H ducreyi were similar. Skin lesions in patients with yaws and in those with dual infection were larger than those in patients infected with H ducreyi (p=0·071). The lesions in patients with yaws and dual infection were more circular in shape (79% and 67%) than in those infected with H ducreyi (21%; p<0·0001); more likely to have central granulating tissue (90% and 67% vs 14%; p<0·0001); and more likely to have indurated edges (74% and 83% vs 31%; p=0·0003). The prevalence of reactive combined serology (positive T pallidum haemagglutination test and rapid plasmin reagin titre of ≥1:8) was higher in cases of yaws (63%) and dual infections (92%) than in H ducreyi infections (29%; p<0·0001).
Interpretation: In this yaws-endemic community, H ducreyi is an important and previously unrecognised cause of chronic skin ulceration. Reactive syphilis serology caused by latent yaws can occur in ulcers with the presence of H ducreyi alone. The introduction of PCR for ulcer surveillance could improve the accuracy of diagnosis in countries with yaws eradication campaigns.
Funding: Newcrest Mining Company.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70019-1 | DOI Listing |
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