A pioneer endocrinologist.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S F Becker.
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Vibrio vulnificus, a marine Vibrio associated with severe extraintestinal infections, has not been previously implicated as a cause of infectious diarrhea. Three patients were identified with diarrheal illness from whom this organism was the sole pathogen recovered from cultured stool specimens. All three had eaten raw oysters within one week of becoming ill. These patients were all taking medication that reduces gastric acidity, two were heavy drinkers of alcohol, and one had unrecognized colon cancer; these factors may have predisposed to the development of disease. Clinicians should consider that V. vulnificus may be a cause of gastroenteritis in patients who have consumed raw oysters.
To identify risk factors for Vibrio vulnificus infections, we performed a regional case-control study of 19 patients identified by isolates received at a state reference laboratory. Interviews with patients or surviving relatives and with three controls for each patient were compared in a matched analysis. Patients with V vulnificus wound infection were more likely than controls to have sustained a puncture wound while handling fresh seafood or to have been exposed to salt water. More patients with primary septicemia than controls had eaten raw oysters before the onset of illness. Other risk factors for septicemia included underlying liver disease, hematopoietic disorders, chronic renal insufficiency, use of immunosuppressive agents, and heavy alcohol consumption. Although V vulnificus infection is unusual, with a regional incidence of 0.8 per 100,000 population in this study, septicemia in the immunosuppressed patient is a devastating illness that can be prevented by not eating raw seafood.
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