Dientamoeba fragilis infection, a cause of gastrointestinal symptoms in childhood.

Clinical and laboratory findings of 123 paediatric patients with infections due to intestinal protozoa were analysed. Dientamoeba fragilis (D.f.) was found in 102 cases. The other patients had infections with Giardia lamblia or mixed infections with several other protozoa. Acute and recurrent diarrhoea were the most common findings (56 cases), whereas abdominal pain was more common in children with chronic symptoms. Peripheral eosinophilia was present in 32% of the children with dientamoebiasis. Metronidazole, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, and erythromycin were the most effective drugs in the treatment of D.f. infections. The therapy led coincidentally to the sanitation of stools and elimination of abdominal complaints. The investigations underline the pathogenic role of D.f. in those children with gastrointestinal symptoms. Mixed infections of D.f. and Enterobius vermicularis suggest a vector bound transmission of D.f.

Urinary excretion substances in patients with cystic fibrosis: risk of urolithiasis?

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have an increased risk of urolithiasis/nephrocalcinosis. To determine potential mechanisms responsible, we studied the urinary excretion of lithogenic and stone-inhibitory substances and calculated the urinary saturation for calcium-oxalate (CaOx), brushite (CaHPO4), and uric acid (UA). We examined 24-h urines in 63 patients with CF (34 female, 29 male) aged 5 months to 36 years. Renal ultrasonography was performed at the time of urine collection. Hyperoxaluria was found in 25 patients (range 0.51-1.71 mmol/1.73 m2 per 24 h). Urinary Ca was increased in 13 patients (4.1-8.22 mg/kg per 24 h). Hyperuricosuria was found in 16 patients (5.2-18.0 mmol/1.73 m2 per 24 h) and hypocitraturia in 14 patients (0.07-1.14 mmol/1.73 m2 per 24 h). CaOx saturation was elevated in 26 patients, related to hyperoxaluria in 19 patients. CaHPO4 saturation was increased in 19 patients and UA saturation in 11 patients. Urolithiasis in situ was diagnosed in 1 patient; 3 patients previously had renal stones; 4 patients had present nephrocalcinosis. Elevated excretion of lithogenic substances and urinary supersaturation might lead to the higher risk of urolithiasis/nephrocalcinosis in patients with CF.

Absence of Oxalobacter formigenes in cystic fibrosis patients: a risk factor for hyperoxaluria.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cystic fibrosis have an increased risk of hyperoxaluria, and of subsequent nephrocalcinosis and calcium-oxalate urolithiasis. Oxalate homoeostasis is controlled, in part, by the intestinal bacterium, Oxalobacter formigenes. The loss of this bacterium from the gut flora is associated with an increased risk of hyperoxaluria and calcium-oxalate urolithiasis. We investigated whether the absence of O. formigenes and the presence of hyperoxaluria are correlated in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. METHODS: Stool specimens from 43 patients with CF aged 3-9 years and from 21 similarly aged healthy volunteers were examined for O. formigenes by culture and DNA analysis. At the same time, 24 h urine samples were collected and analysed for oxalate and other factors that promote or inhibit stone formation. FINDINGS: 15 (71%) of 21 healthy volunteers but only seven (16%) of 43 CF patients were colonised with O. formigenes. Detection of O. formigenes in six of these seven patients required DNA-based identification, suggesting low numbers of colony-forming units, and the CF patient with normal numbers of O. formigenes was the only one of the 43 patients who had not been treated with antibiotics. All seven CF patients colonised with O. formigenes had normal urinary oxalate levels, but 19 (53%) of 36 patients not colonised with O. formigenes were hyperoxaluric, with the most severe hyperoxaluria occurring in young patients. INTERPRETATION: Absence of O. formigenes from the intestinal tract of CF patients appears to lead to increased absorption of oxalate, thereby increasing the risk of hyperoxaluria and its complications (eg, nephrocalcinosis, urolithiasis). Prolonged widespread use of antibiotics, and alterations of the gastrointestinal tract that occur in CF, may induce a permanent decolonisation in CF patients.

[Oral ciprofloxacin therapy in juvenile patients with cystic fibrosis--results of a prospective pilot study]. / Orale Ciprofloxacin-Therapie bei juvenilen Patienten mit zystischer Fibrose--Ergebnisse einer prospektiven Pilotstudie.

Efficacy and safety of oral ciprofloxacin were studied in a prospective study at three cystic fibrosis centres, covering 24 in-patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and acute bronchopulmonary exacerbation. The patients were between 10 and 17 years of age. Pseudomonas infection was present in 75% of these patients. Despite frequent persistence of the pathogens, clinical improvement was noted in 75% of the treated children. A definite increase of the average MIC was not seen in 20 cases of persisting strains. No serious side effects occurred during the 14-day oral treatment course. Ciprofloxacin is a useful alternative to conventional parenteral treatment with antibiotics in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and infections of the airways.