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Biomedical subjects

T Gyorkos

Publications and source records attributed to T Gyorkos.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Promoting travel clinic referrals: exploring partnerships for healthier travel.

Many travellers are unaware or unprepared for the health-related risks of international travel. Indeed, studies of travel-related morbidity have estimated that between 15 and 45% of travellers to tropical and sub-tropical destinations experience a variety of mild to severe clinical symptoms during their travel. While some inadequacies may exist in the pre-travel health advice provided by travel clinics, recent studies have suggested that these clinics are more effective in promoting health awareness and consequently in preventing illness than more traditional health services. Unfortunately, traveller attendance records at pre-travel health clinics are poor. This situation suggests that new partnerships must be developed which encourage healthier travel by promoting the pre-departure use of travel health clinic services. The intent of this paper is to generate discussion as well as to initiate research into the development and evaluation of new partnerships to promote healthier travel.

Counseling↗

Outbreak of cutaneous larva migrans in a group of travellers.

We describe an outbreak of cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) in a group of 140 holidaymakers to a resort in Barbados and the index case. methods A two-page questionnaire was mailed to holidaymakers and 90% responded. results 25.4% of respondents developed a rash consistent with CLM. Risk factors for developing the illness were younger age and less frequent use of protective footwear while walking to the beach. Patients had difficulty in obtaining a correct diagnosis during their initial medical consultation and in obtaining medication from pharmacies. Efficacious treatments were oral and topical thiabendazole. conclusions CLM can occur in a large proportion of people exposed to contaminated soil or sand. Protective footwear is effective in reducing infection. Thiabendazole is an efficacious treatment.

Adult↗

Cluster randomization trials in tropical medicine: a case study.

Field trials in tropical medicine are often designed so that intact social units (e.g., families, schools, communities) rather than independent individuals are randomized to an intervention group. Reasons are diverse, but include administrative convenience, a desire to reduce the effect of treatment contamination, and the need to avoid ethical issues that might otherwise arise. Dependencies among cluster members typical of such designs must be considered when determining sample size and analysing the resulting data. Failure to do so can result in false conclusions that the treatment is effective. The purpose of this paper is to compare different methods which can be used to construct tests of the effect of treatment when outcomes are binary (e.g., infected/uninfected). The discussion will be illustrated using data from a trial which randomly assigned families to either a control group or a screening and treatment programme for imported intestinal parasites.

Asia, Southeastern↗

An epidemic of hepatitis B among injection drug users in a rural area.

An epidemic of hepatitis B occurring in a rural area of Nova Scotia in 1988 and 1989 was investigated. This epidemic identified injection drug use (IDU) as the major determinant of transmission and was the first highly visible indication of IDU in rural Nova Scotia. Contact-tracing was used to identify 186 injection drug users (IDUs), of whom 153 (82%) were interviewed. Of 133 (72%) IDUs who underwent serological testing, 78 had serological evidence of hepatitis B infection. Using epidemiological criteria, 57 IDUs formed a cluster of hepatitis B infections. Using logistic regression techniques, age (O.R. = 1.1), the total number of IDU-contacts named (O.R. = 1.1), and the number of hepatitis B seropositive IDU-contacts named (O.R. = 1.3), were identified as risk factors predictive of an IDU being a cluster case. The characterization of this epidemic may be useful as a model for the spread of hepatitis B and other viral infections among IDUs in rural areas.

Adolescent↗