Spontaneous cure of hydatid cyst disease

Hydatid cysts: does every picture tell a story?

Ultrasound imaging is an effective aid to the detection of abdominal cystic echinococcosis. Recently, the images produced have provided more information than just a diagnosis. Different cyst morphologies have been classified into types, and such classifications can be considered to represent a natural history of cyst development. Understanding how cyst structures alter with time is crucial to evaluating the effectiveness of different treatment regimes and to understanding natural degeneration of cysts that can occur. However, the developmental events seen in ultrasound need to be matched more closely to immunological and cellular events if we are to have a fuller appreciation of disease progression and regression. At a community level, the relative proportions of cyst types could also provide epidemiological information on disease transmission.

Norfloxacin and azithromycin for treatment of nontyphoidal salmonella carriers

There has been inadequate evaluation of an antibiotic for eradication of nontyphoidal salmonellae (NTS) in asymptomatic carriers. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, such efficacy was evaluated using 2 five-day regimens (norfloxacin, 400 mg twice per day, and azithromycin, 500 mg once per day) compared with placebo. The study included 265 food workers in an area of Thailand where NTS are endemic who were asymptomatic NTS carriers. The presence of NTS in stool samples was assessed on days 7, 30, 60, and 90 after start of treatment. At each assessment visit, <4% of participants in each of the 3 groups carried an initial Salmonella serotype; 16%-35% had new Salmonella serotypes detected, except on day 7 in the azithromycin group, when the rate was 4%. Sanitation was good at work but not at home. Selection of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Schwarzengrund was demonstrated. The study regimens were not better than placebo for treatment of asymptomatic food workers who carried NTS in an area where these organisms are endemic, and use of the regimens resulted in antimicrobial resistance.