Cryptosporidiosis. Case report in a health team worker.

Cryptosporidium is a coccidial protozoan of the intestinal tract; cryptosporidiosis in veterinarians has been reported as a cause of diarrhea. It has also been reported as a cause of diarrhea in marrow transplant recipients. Cryptosporidiosis has gained attention recently because of its occurrence in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). A healthy intensive care unit nurse who acquired cryptosporidiosis from a bone marrow transplant recipient with diarrhea caused by cryptosporidiosis is described. Results of laboratory examination, including T lymphocyte subsets, were normal. She was treated with bed rest and a liquid diet and her symptoms completely resolved after 15 days. Health care workers should be aware that cryptosporidiosis can be transmitted to them from patients and should follow precautions to avoid acquiring the disease.

Bilateral perinephric abscesses: a complication of endoscopic injection sclerotherapy.

Ten years after right hepatic lobectomy for primary hepatocellular cancer, a 45-yr-old black woman presented with bleeding esophageal varices. After five endoscopic injection sclerotherapy procedures using sodium morrhuate, she developed fever and elevated white blood count. Reendoscopy, chest x-ray, and upper gastrointestinal contrast x-rays showed no local complication. Urine analysis was normal, but CT scans, renal sonograms, and white blood cell radionuclide scan demonstrated bilateral perinephric abscesses. Percutaneous abscess drainage grew Streptococcus pneumoniae, normally found in the nasopharyngeal flora, which was probably a result of hematogenous spread. The perinephric abscesses were successfully treated with percutaneous drainage and antibiotics. Renal infection should be considered as a possible locus of distant blood-borne infection in patients who develop fever after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy.