Unusual non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae in homosexual men.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Allason-Jones.
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Among homosexual men the prevalence of infection with Entamoeba histolytica is high. To determine the clinical importance of this infection 55 homosexual men carrying the parasite were investigated in detail. No clinical, serological, or histological evidence of invasive amoebiasis was found in any of them. The patients were not treated and were followed up for 12 to 29 months (mean 21.6 months), during which period none developed symptoms that could be attributed to E histolytica. Spontaneous loss of the parasite occurred in 17 patients, some of whom later became reinfected. Sixteen patients had antibody to human immunodeficiency virus, and infection with E histolytica showed the same benign course in them as in the patients who did not have antibody. Throughout the study classification of the isolates of E histolytica consistently showed that they belonged only to non-pathogenic zymodemes. The findings provide further evidence that E histolytica in homosexual men is a commensal organism.
77 patients with a first attack of genital herpes were entered into a double-blind trial to compare the efficacy of acyclovir with that of inosine pranobex. 24 patients received acyclovir with that of inosine pranobex, and 28 both drugs. Patients treated with acyclovir or both drugs healed more quickly and had a shorter duration of viral shedding than those treated with inosine pranobex. The time to first recurrence and frequency of subsequent recurrences were similar in the three treatment groups. Acyclovir is the treatment of choice for patients with a first attack of genital herpes.
Patients with gastrointestinal symptoms may not associate their problems with sexual activities or be unwilling to admit to homosexuality. The diagnosis may be delayed or missed and sexual partners are unlikely to be investigated. To complicate matters further the clinical manifestations of some infections may be markedly altered in a patient whose immune system has been compromised by infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
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Entamoeba histolytica is considered to be an uncommon, imported organism in the United Kingdom and in many parts of North America, but recent attention has been drawn to the possibility of sexual transmission of this parasite among homosexual men. To determine the prevalence and clinical importance of enteric parasitic infections in men attending a clinic in London for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, we studied 354 randomly selected patients who provided a single stool sample that was examined for E. histolytica and other intestinal parasites. Forty-five of the 225 homosexual patients (20 percent) were infected with E. histolytica, but no such infections were found among the 129 heterosexual subjects (P less than 0.0001). With the use of isoenzyme electrophoresis, 34 of the 45 E. histolytica isolates were classified according to zymodeme. All were Zymodeme I or III, which are considered to be nonpathogenic. There was no correlation between the presence of E. histolytica and gastrointestinal symptoms. These findings suggest that E. histolytica is a common commensal in the homosexual population and that, in the absence of evidence of invasive disease, treatment of persons passing cysts of the organism may have little practical benefit.
First catch urine specimens from 312 male patients were examined for the presence of chlamydial antigen by an enzyme immunoassay (Chlamydiazyme). Positive results were repeated and confirmed using a blocking assay. In addition, urethral swabs were examined by cell culture for Chlamydia trachomatis. Discrepant results were further analysed by direct immunofluorescence (IF) of the spun urine deposit. Paired specimens were positive from 26 subjects, and negative from 276 subjects. Eight paired specimens were urethral culture positive, and urine EIA negative. Two specimens, urine EIA positive but urethral culture negative, were positive on direct IF. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value of a positive result, and predictive value of a negative result for urine EIA against cell culture and/or direct IF were 77.8%, 100%, 100% and 97.2% respectively.
The efficacy and safety of ofloxacin, 200 mg twice daily for 7 days, was compared with metronidazole, 400 mg twice daily for 7 days, for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV). Diagnosis of BV was confirmed by at least 3 of the following 4 criteria: the presence of an abnormal vaginal discharge on examination, clue cells on microscopy of vaginal specimens, vaginal pH greater than 5.0 and a positive amine test. Vaginal specimens were examined for Mobiluncus spp, analysed for the succinate/lactate (S/L) ratio and cultured for Trichomonas vaginalis, Gardnerella vaginalis, Bacteroides spp. and Mycoplasma hominis. Patients were reviewed on completion of treatment (visit 2) and 14 days later (visit 3). The diagnosis of BV was accepted in 119 of 149 patients recruited, 60 of whom received treatment with ofloxacin and 59 received metronidazole. Sixty-two patients, 31 in each treatment group, completed the study. Diagnostic cure at visit 2 was significantly better in the metronidazole group with cure rates of 56% (metronidazole) vs 23% (ofloxacin) (P = 0.001); this was associated with higher eradication rates for G. vaginalis (100% vs 56%) and Bacteroides spp. (97% vs 49%). There were no significant differences between the two groups in clinical cure at either visit 2 or 3 or in diagnostic cure at visit 3. Both treatments were well tolerated. We conclude that metronidazole is likely to remain the first choice of treatment for BV but ofloxacin offers a safe and effective alternative.
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