title: Acute schistosomiasis (Katayama fever): corticosteroid as adjunct therapy.
abstract: A 19-year-old male university student of West Indian origin presented with fever, rigor, watery diarrhoea and noted intermittent generalised giant urticarial wheals of 2 weeks' duration. He swam in Lake Victoria, Uganda, 6 weeks previously and developed a swimmers' itch. Ova of Schistosoma mansoni was demonstrated by the formol-ether concentration method of the faeces. An initial single dose (40 mg/kg) of praziquantel with prednisolone 40 mg once daily for 5 days was given with no clinical deterioration of his condition. It is therefore safe and beneficial to give corticosteroid with chemotherapy in acute schistosomiasis (Katayama fever).
authors.affiliation: Regional Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Monsall Hospital, Manchester, England.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D011223:Praziquantel; D011239:Prednisolone