Acute schistosomiasis (Katayama fever): corticosteroid as adjunct therapy.
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).
Ong
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Regional Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Monsall Hospital, Manchester, England.
Ellis
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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
D000277:Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic; D011223:Praziquantel; D011239:Prednisolone