PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Blundell

Publications and source records attributed to N Blundell.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Cryptosporidiosis in children in Gaza.

A prospective survey of children admitted with gastro-enteritis to the Nasser Children's Hospital, Gaza revealed that 19% were excreting cryptosporidium, a significantly (p less than 0.001) greater percentage than that (7%) observed in children admitted for other reasons. Detection of cryptosporidium decreased when the change from hot dry to colder wetter weather occurred. Although Salmonella spp were isolated more frequently than cryptosporidium in children with diarrhoea (20% of cases), there was no statistically significant association between excretion of Salmonella spp and gastro-enteritis. A follow-up study of a cohort of the children with cryptosporidiosis indicated that over three-quarters were dehydrated and all were below their expected weight-for-age. There was a statistically significant association between cryptosporidium gastro-enteritis and evidence of respiratory tract infection.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1988

Recognition and laboratory characteristics of an atypical oocyst of Cryptosporidium.

Feces from some patients with clinically unremarkable cryptosporidiosis contained an unusual variety of oocyst not previously recognized. These atypical oocysts were shown by electron microscopy to have a distinctive three-layered outer coat and, by immunofluorescence with a monoclonal antiserum, to lack an antigen present on the surface of typical oocysts. In contrast to typical oocysts, the atypical variety is very fragile and quickly collapses when suspended in solutions of high osmotic pressure or in lipid solvents. Atypical oocysts cannot be stained by methods used to stain typical oocysts, but their appearance in sucrose-phenol is characteristic. Their stability in this solution, though much less than that of typical oocysts, is sufficient for them to be recognized and for cases to be diagnosed by microscopy. Patients who excreted atypical oocysts never excreted the typical variety. General findings in patients who excreted atypical oocysts were no different from those who excreted typical oocysts.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Shedding of oocysts by immunocompetent individuals with cryptosporidiosis.

Studies were made on 33 immunocompetent patients with cryptosporidiosis (31 of them children) to determine how long oocyst shedding continued after the cessation of diarrhoea. The majority (20/33) ceased to shed oocysts in the week following the cessation of diarrhoea. However 5 patients (15%) continued to shed oocysts for 2 weeks or more, and 1 patient was still shedding oocysts when lost to follow-up 3 weeks after the diarrhoea ceased. There was considerable variation among patients, and some eliminated oocysts more efficiently and quickly than others. The sucrose flotation technique was more useful than direct smear for detecting the low numbers present at the end of the shedding period. Limited information suggested that a carrier state or relapse is probably rare.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Gastro-enteritis due to Cryptosporidium: a prospective survey in a children's hospital.

During a 10 months' survey of children with gastro-enteritis, 27 cases of cryptosporidiosis (1.4% of those tested) were found. Only one patient was infected with another potential enteropathogen. In most cases the faeces were described as green, watery and offensive. Clinical features also included anorexia, vomiting and abdominal pain. The diarrhoea was moderate to severe in 15 cases and resulted in dehydration in 9 patients of whom two were more than 5% dehydrated. The diarrhoea was prolonged and persisted on average for 13 days. Excretion of oocysts did not stop with cessation of diarrhoea but continued for a further 11 days. Human beings appeared to be as important a source for Cryptosporidium as animals and it seemed possible that patients were infective throughout the period that they were excreting oocysts.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The development and performance of a simple, sensitive method for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces.

Features are described of a new staining method for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faeces. Smears, fixed in acid-methanol, are stained with heated safranin and counterstained with methylene blue. Oocysts stain a vivid orange-pink and are easily recognized. The method is rapid and simple with little source of error. The method is more sensitive than currently recommended Ziehl-Neelson methods; of 26 cases of cryptosporidiosis diagnosed by the new method only 19 were detected by acid-fast and only 11 by acid-alcohol-fast methods. Oocysts can be stained by safranin-methylene blue after concentration by various methods, in paraffin-embedded material, and after storage for months at various temperatures.

Animals↗