Parasitic infestations requiring surgical interventions.

Parasitic infestation is common in developing countries especially in Africa. Children are often more vulnerable to these infections. Many health problems result from these infestations, including malnutrition, iron-deficiency anemia, surgical morbidities, and even impaired cognitive function and educational achievement. Surgical intervention may be needed to treat serious complications caused by some of these parasites. Amoebic colitis and liver abscess caused by protozoan infections; intestinal obstruction, biliary infestation with cholangitis and liver abscess, and pancreatitis caused by Ascaris lumbricoides; biliary obstruction caused by Faschiola; hepatic and pulmonary hydatid cysts caused by Echinococcus granulosus and multilocularis are examples. Expenditure of medical care of affected children may cause a great burden on many African governments, which are already suffering from economic instability. The clinical presentation, investigation, and management of some parasitic infestations of surgical relevance in African children are discussed in this article.

Surgical extraction of guinea worm: disability reduction and contribution to disease control.

Surgical extraction of Guinea worm prior to eruption through the skin has long been performed by traditional healers in India. Using modern aseptic techniques under local anesthesia, unerupted worms can be completely and painlessly removed in several minutes. As a result, the average number of working days lost due to a single worm is reduced from three weeks or more to three days. In the field, the procedure results not only in a dramatic decrease in Guinea worm associated disability, but also in an improvement in detecting cases, and appears to reduce disease transmission.

[Intraspinal dracunculosis. Apropos of a case of epidural medullary compression]. / La dracunculose intrarachidienne. A propos d'un cas de compression médullaire épidurale.

The authors report on a case of spinal cord compression due to Dracunculiasis. They study the nine others cases of the literature. In all these cases, the worm was epidural. The extradural guinea worm granuloma was localised at the level of the cervical region or in the upper part of the thoracic region of the spinal canal. Before operation the diagnosis is almost always impossible. It could be evocated if the guinea worm is calcified and, then, visible on the spinal tomograms.