RESUMO
Massive splenomegaly is common in Northern Zambia. Nearly 40% of 344 patients were diagnosed as Tropical Splenomegaly Syndrome of malarial origin. Portal hypertension, lymphoreticular and haemopoietic malignancies, and schistosomiasis accounted for another 46%. The common causes of splenomegaly show differences of frequency within Zambia and also between Zambia and other African countries.
Assuntos
Esplenomegalia/etiologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Hipertensão Portal/complicações , Leucemia/complicações , Fígado/patologia , Doenças Linfáticas/complicações , Linfocitose/complicações , Linfoma/complicações , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Gravidez , Esquistossomose/complicações , Fatores Sexuais , Baço/patologia , Esplenomegalia/epidemiologia , Esplenomegalia/patologia , Síndrome , ZâmbiaRESUMO
Twenty-three patients from Northern Zambia with massive splenomegaly due to chronic schistosomiasis were studied. The mean serum IgG levels were found to be extremely high compared with local blood donors and local patients with Tropical Splenomegaly Syndrome (TSS). Mean serum IgG levels also appear to be higher in Zambians with schistosomal splenomegaly than in those reported in patients from most other areas. Mean IgM levels of patients with schistosomal splenomegaly were higher than those of local blood donors, but not as high as in the TSS. IgG and IgM estimations are sometimes of value in the differential diagnosis of splenomegaly in the tropics.