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Clinical observation and treatment of leptospirosis.

The epidemiological and clinical observations of 240 patients with Weil's disease and 10 patients with canicola fever, and these observations in two epidemics of canicola fever, are presented. Early diagnosis is most important for the prognosis of patients with the severe form of leptospirosis. It depends on the clinical features, clinical laboratory findings, and the epidemiological situation. The most characteristic clinical signs for early diagnosis were febrile illness of sudden onset, severe general malaise, muscular pain, and conjunctival congestion. Proteinuria, leukocytosis with neutrophilia, and raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate were the most indicative clinical laboratory findings for early diagnosis. Although jaundice and hemorrhage are the most important signs of the severe form of leptospirosis, Weil's disease, these are rarely useful in early diagnosis. Of a variety of antibiotics used, penicillins and cephems had the lowest minimal inhibitory concentration against leptospires. However, it became apparent from basic studies in vitro and in vivo that streptomycin showed the best bactericidal action against leptospires and that it was the most effective anti-leptospiral antibiotic. Gentamicin, tobramycin, and isepamicin are also effective as alternatives to streptomycin. Although penicillins, cephems, tetracyclines, and macrolides are also effective for the treatment of leptospirosis, when these antibiotics with inadequate bactericidal activity are used for the treatment of the disease, long-term therapy with sufficiently large doses may be required from an early stage of the disease until the appearance of antibodies.

Animals↗

[Icterohemorrhagic leptospirosis with acute renal failure (author's transl)].

Icterohemorrhagic leptospirosis is a zoonosis which is relatively frequent in rural agricultural or cattle areas. In the severe forms of the disease renal affection is frequent, but the incidence of acute renal insufficiency is far lesser. Three cases of acute renal insufficiency in adult male patients secondary to an infection by Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae are presented. Two of the patients resided in urban areas and only one of which presented professional risk. The clinical polymorphysm of the illness is confirmed, having observed not only the absence of fever but also that of jaundice. The former history of chronic alcoholism, present in two cases, determined diagnostic difficulties with acute alcoholic hepatitis. The serologic diagnosis is often positive only at the end of the second week, and the need to carry out a series of seroaglutinations is to be insisted upon. The types of renal impairment in leptospirosis are reviewed and the presence of acute renal insufficiency is stressed, including those patients with less severe forms of the disease, and especially those without Weil's syndrome. All of the patients had to be treated with dialysis, although two of them had a conserved diuresis after an initial brief period of oliguria.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

Leptospirosis severity may be associated with the intensity of humoral immune response.

Leptospirosis severity may be increasing, with pulmonary involvement becoming more frequent. Does this increase result from an intense immune response to leptospire? Notice that renal failure, thrombocytopenia and pulmonary complications are found during the immune phase. Thirty-five hospitalized patients with Weil's disease had 5 blood samples drawn, from the 15th day to the 12th month of symptoms, for ELISA-IgM, -IgG and -IgA specific antibody detection. According their 1st IgG titer, the patients were divided into: group 1 (n = 13) titer > 1:400 (positive) and group 2 (n = 22) titer < or =1:400 (negative). Early IgG antibodies in group 1 showed high avidity which may indicate reinfection. Group 1 was older, had worse pulmonary and renal function, and fever for a longer period than group 2. Throughout the study, IgG and IgA titers remained higher in group 1. In conclusion, the severity of Weil's disease may be associated with the intensity of the humoral immune response to leptospire.

Adolescent↗

[Clinical reasoning and decision-making in practice. A man with jaundice, renal function disorder, thrombocytopenia, muscular pain and confusion].

A 51-year-old man became jaundiced, after experiencing flu-like symptoms for a week. On admission anaemia, thrombocytopenia, and hepatic and renal function disorders were present. One month previously he had had sinusitis. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)/haemolitic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) was suspected, but the thrombocyte count rose spontaneously. The leukocytosis indicated an infectious cause of the symptoms and the jaundice appeared to originate from intrahepatic cholestasis. All symptoms could be traced to leptospirosis icterohaemorrhagica (known as 'Weil's disease'). The source was possibly the patient's fishpond. He recovered spontaneously and was also treated with antibiotics. Leptospirosis, a multi-organ disease is seen ever more infrequently as an occupational disease in stock farmers and increasingly frequently in people whose hobbies involved animals.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Ocular manifestations in the acute phase of leptospirosis.

OBJECTIVES: To study the ocular manifestations during the acute phase of leptospirosis and their incidence in hospitalized patients due to systemic complications, and to verify the importance of routine ophthalmologic care in these cases. METHODS: Twenty-one patients, 20 males and 1 female, with clinical and laboratory (ELISA IgM) diagnoses of leptospirosis were subjected to ophthalmologic examination. RESULTS: We observed conjunctival hyperemia in 18 patients (85.7%), increased retinal venous caliber in 12 patients (57.1%), optic disc redness in 12 patients (57.1%), subconjunctival hemorrhage in four patients (19.0%), optic disc edema in one patient (4.8%), retinal vasculitis in one patient (4.8%), retinal hemorrhage in one patient (4.8%), hard exudates in one patient (4.8%), and papillitis in one patient (4.8%). No anterior chamber reaction was found. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a high incidence of several ocular manifestations in the acute phase of leptospirosis. Despite the systemic severity and high incidence of ocular disorders in the acute phase of leptospirosis, the short-term visual outcome of these patients was good.

Acute Disease↗