Chagas Cardiomyopathy: Evidence in Medical and Nutritional Management
AbstractPurpose of ReviewChagas cardiomyopathy (CC) is a prevalent manifestation of Chagas disease, responsible for high mortality. Treatment and management have not changed significantly, and there is still a lack of consensus about the proper approach. Particular characteristics in the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of CC cause inadequate treatment. This review aims to describe the treatment and management of CC currently indicated and describe topics of discussion and future medical and nutritional interventions.Recent FindingsNew evidence suggests benznidazole (BZ) is beneficial in the treatment of CC. Also, ...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 22, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Measuring Retention in Antiretroviral Therapy Programs —a Synthetic Review of Different Approaches for Field Use in Low- and Middle-Income Settings
AbstractPurpose of ReviewRetention measures in antiretroviral therapy programs are important, but there is wide variation in their calculation and relatively little systematic discussion of their relative advantages and limitations.Recent FindingsWe extracted and compared distinctive approaches to quantifying retention through a systematic search in PubMed and undertook a purposive selection of articles published in peer-reviewed journals and policy documents. We also created a simulated dataset and code examples to help illustrate observations about each metric. Among identified retention approaches, were metrics based on...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 19, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Child Mortality in Mozambique: a Review of Recent Trends and Attributable Causes
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIn the last 25 years, child mortality has significantly dropped at a global level. Understanding particularities of child mortality at the national level is useful to tailor health policy to those conditions requiring more attention. In Mozambique, a variety of efforts have been made to better characterize the o verall child mortality and to describe the main contributors for death. In this review, we attempt to contextualize current knowledge on causes of pediatric deaths in Mozambique.Recent FindingsThe available data regarding the principal causes of death in Mozambican children point out to i...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 16, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Giardiasis in Colombia: a Review of the Current Knowledge
This article aims to review the current prevalence of human giardiasis in Colombia, using data published in scientific literature available until January 2018.Recent FindingsAccording to the last Colombian National Survey of Intestinal Parasites in 2015 conducted in school children, giardiasis continues to be a public health problem, with a prevalence of 15.4% similar to that reported in the population-based survey performed in 1980 (18.4%).SummarySeveral protozoa and helminthes affect the health in patients from Colombia, but giardiasis is a serious problem, especially in children, for whom consumption of non-drinkable wa...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 9, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
HIV in Colombia: an Epidemiologic Point of View
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to present an updated view from the epidemiological point of view of the problem of HIV infection in Colombia, highlighting aspects related to the general population, risk factors, discriminated minorities, access to treatment, social factors, resistance, and opportunistic infections.Recent FindingsRecent data show that in Colombia ’s general population, there is a prevalence of HIV infection around 0.6–0.7%, but when we look at high-risk groups like men who have sex with men, it can be as high as 24%; this denotes a marked increase in the epidemic in some subgroup...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 7, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Measles, Rubella, and Tetanus Vaccinations: a Brief Global Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe study aims to review the prevention efforts for vaccine preventable diseases.Recent FindingsSignificant progress in global vaccination coverage has been made since World Health Organization established the Expanded Programme on Immunization to ensure that all children have access to routinely recommended vaccines. Global coverage with vaccines to prevent tetanus, poliomyelitis, or measles has increased from< 5 to ≥ 85% in multiple countries, and for the first time, in 2016, global estimated measles deaths were fewer than 100,000. However, vaccination rates for the third dose of polio ...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 4, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Update of Hepatitis C in Colombia
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe goal is to describe the epidemiology, disease burden and detection, available therapies, and current challenges to access care for people with chronic hepatitis C infection in Colombia.Recent FindingsThere are no detailed statistics about the prevalence of HCV in Colombia; nonetheless, majority of patients with hepatitis C are infected with genotype 1 and having received blood products before 1996 represents the main risk factor. The use of intravenous drugs has started to be recognized as a population at risk that is in increment. Direct-acting antivirals became available in 2016 in Colombia t...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - June 4, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Cutaneous Infection
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe worldwide increase in skin infections due toMycobacterium abscessus, especially in Latin America, and its difficult diagnosis and treatment, makes a review of literature crucial in reminding and updating physicians about its presentation, diagnosing techniques, and management.Recent FindingsOutbreaks are associated with cosmetic surgeries and medical tourism, but any kind of skin lesion can become infected presenting as negative typical cultures and unsuccessful empirical treatments; therefore, a high clinical suspicion is required. Molecular techniques are promising new diagnosing alternatives...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 31, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Rapidly Growing Mycobacterial Infections of the Skin and Soft Tissues Caused by M. fortuitum and M. chelonae
AbstractPurpose of ReviewNon-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have emerged as pathogens of clinical importance in human health as etiological agents of opportunist infections. Although NTM are known to cause systemic infections in immunocompromised subjects primarily in HIV patients, yet the growing number of immunosuppressed patients with new therapies and even more recently in non-immunocompromised subjects often localized infections of the lungs or skin and soft tissues (S&STI) but with a new clinical spectrums. Our goal is to report distinct patterns of infections according to the clinical and immunological settings ...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 30, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Hydatid Disease, an Update in Colombia
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo review aspects of Echinococcosis and the four species identified to date. In addition, describe the multiple forms of hydatid disease and describe the classification for diagnosis ofEchinococcus species. This review will assist medical providers to be familiar and able to recognize this disease from tropical areas.Recent FindingsMost recent literature was reviewed about hydatid cyst and discussed the epidemiology of the infection especially in South America and Colombia.SummaryThe article summarize about the Echinococcosis and the multiple clinical presentations, complications, diagnosis, and tr...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 26, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Cutaneous Tuberculosis: a Review of the Current Literature
AbstractPurpose of reviewThis review summarizes the literature currently available for cutaneous tuberculosis (CTB), as well as providing data for clinical utility.Recent findingsAvailable studies in CTB are scarce; however, they provide important information about efficacy and outcome in clinical practice.SummaryWe can detect differences in the clinical aspect and disease evolution; this is due to the individual immunity, environmental factors, and the type of inoculum. Treatment options for CTB are currently limited to the conventional oral therapy and the occasional surgical intervention in cases where needed. The devel...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 23, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Paracoccidioidomycosis: Global Vision of a Forgotten Endemic Mycosis
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review aims to evaluate the disease globally from its immunopathogenesis to clinical manifestations and treatment. We would like to call attention to an infectious disease, restricted to some countries in Latin America and with serious sequelae mainly at the pulmonary level.Recent FindingsParacoccidioidomycosis is a systemic fungal infection caused by a complex of thermal dimorphic fungi namedParacoccidioides brasiliensis andP. lutzii. It is the second most prevalent endemic mycosis in Latin America and is usually restricted to this geographical area. It is characterized by a primary pulmonary...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 23, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Cryptosporidiosis in Colombia: a Systematic Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCryptosporidium is an intestinal apicomplexan recently classified as a gregarine. It is associated with diarrhea both in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. Direct person-to-person, zoonotic, and waterborne are the principal transmission routes. Despite the significant impact on public health of cryptosporidiosis, especially in developing countries, there are few studies on this parasitic disease. This systematic review will focus on the cryptosporidiosis situation in Colombia, describing the prevalence data on humans, other animals, and environmental sources. Species and subtypes, risk...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 19, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
The Epidemiology of Diarrhea in Children Under 5 Years of Age in Mozambique
This article aims to review the available data on the burden and etiology of diarrhea in Mozambique.Recent FindingsEpidemiological studies defining the burden and etiology of diarrhea (mostly from Southern Mozambique) have demonstrated a high disease burden and an associated case fatality rate of nearly 10%. Rotavirus,Shigella spp., enterotoxigenic, and enteroaggregativeEscherichia coli,Vibrio cholerae, andCryptosporidium spp. have been reported to be associated with infantile diarrhea. Rotavirus vaccine has greatly impacted in the reduction of diarrheal hospitalization cases across the country.SummaryUnderstanding the loc...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - May 10, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
Leprosy in Colombia
AbstractPurpose of ReviewLeprosy is a neglected chronic infectious disease produced byMycobacterium leprae. Leprosy causes irreversible disabilities, poverty, social exclusion, stigma, and psychologic sequels. This review summarizes important facts occurred in leprosy epidemiology and clinical outcomes of patients from Colombia during the last 20 years.Recent FindingsAccording to World Health Organization (WHO), leprosy in Colombia is not considered as a public health problem since 1997, when the prevalence achieves the goal of less than 1 case per 10,000 of inhabitants. Nevertheless, 350 –500 new cases are reported ev...
Source: Current Tropical Medicine Reports - April 28, 2018 Category: Tropical Medicine Source Type: research
