Eosinophilic gastroenteritis in a tropical area: report of a Congolese case

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an uncommon disease with an unknown natural history, and its relation to digestive allergies has not been confirmed. This study reports the case of a 27 year old patient who developed eosinophilic gastroenteritis with gastric, intestinal, rectal and peritoneal localisations. In the Congo, massive blood hypereosinophilia suggests digestive parasitosis and gastroenteritis with malnutrition and cutaneous symptoms suggest AIDS/HIV, making the present agnosis uncommon.     

Evaluation of the falls telephone: an automated system for enduring assessment of falls

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the reliability and user experiences of an automated telephone system to monitor falls during a prolonged period of time. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four neurological outpatient clinics in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred nineteen community‐dwelling people with Parkinson's disease without dementia, because falls are common in this population. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical and demographic data were obtained. The Falls Telephone is a computerized telephone system through which participants can enter the number of falls during a particular period. During a follow‐up of 1 to 40 weekly calls, 2,465 calls were made. In total, 173 no‐fall entries and 115 fall entries were verified using personal telephone interviews. User experiences were evaluated in 90 of the 119 participants using structured telephone interviews. RESULTS: All no‐fall entries and 78% of fall entries were confirmed to be correct. Sensitivity to detect falls was 100%, and specificity was 87%. Users regarded the Falls Telephone as a convenient tool to monitor falls. CONCLUSION: The Falls Telephone is a convenient and reliable instrument to monitor falls. The automated system has high specificity, obviating the need for time‐consuming personal follow‐up calls in the majority of nonfallers. As such, the Falls Telephone lends itself well to data collection in large trials with prolonged follow‐up in participants with Parkinson's disease.     

Cerebral malaria and sequelar epilepsy: first matched case-control study in Gabon

PURPOSE: Cerebral malaria (CM) is suspected to be a potential cause of epilepsy in tropical areas. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the relationship between CM and epilepsy in Gabon. METHODS: A matched case-control study was carried out on a sample of subjects aged six months to 25 years and hospitalized between 1990 and 2004 in three hospitals in Libreville, Gabon. Cases were defined as patients suffering from epilepsy and confirmed by a neurologist. Controls were defined as patients without epilepsy. The exposure of interest was CM according to WHO criteria. RESULTS: In total, 296 cases and 296 controls were included. Of these, 36 (26 cases and 10 controls) had a CM history. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) to develop epilepsy after CM was 3.9 [95% CI: 1.7-8.9], p<0.001. Additional risk factors were identified: family history of epilepsy: aOR=6.0 [95% CI: 2.6-14.1], p<0.0001, and febrile convulsions: aOR=9.2 [95% CI 4.0-21.1], p<0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: This first case-control study on that issue suggests that epilepsy-related CM is an underrecognized problem. It emphasizes the need for further studies to better evaluate the role of convulsions during CM.