Liver failure, pneumonia, need ventilator
On October 24, the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases informed that it had just admitted Mr. LVT (72 years old, in Hanoi) with a diagnosis of acute liver failure and blood clotting disorder. It is known that Mr. T was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in July 2024 and had received 2 chemotherapy sessions, the most recent one being 1.5 months ago. In the past month, the patient has been experiencing fatigue, poor appetite, increasing jaundice, indigestion, dark urine, yellow stools, and low blood pressure.
The old man is in critical condition due to strongyloidiasis infection. (Photo: KT).
At the hospital, Mr. T was diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis, acute liver failure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The patient's condition continued to worsen, with progressive respiratory failure, requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Gastric and bronchial fluid tests showed multiple images of strongyloidiasis, consistent with the clinical picture, and a diagnosis of disseminated strongyloidiasis was made. The patient was treated in the Intensive Care Unit with a weakened physical condition and was on mechanical ventilation via endotracheal intubation.
Sharing about the patient's condition, Dr. Dang Van Duong, Department of Intensive Care, said: This patient is in the process of treating a serious underlying disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, requiring chemotherapy, which causes severe liver failure and also causes severe systemic immunodeficiency. Therefore, when the patient was transferred with a severe infection, the hospital immediately assessed the risk of disseminated strongyloidiasis. Test results confirmed strongyloidiasis. The patient was immediately prescribed specific strongyloidiasis treatment combined with broad-spectrum antibiotics. After treatment, the patient had significant changes.
"Although there is progress, the patient needs a long treatment process. Normally, strongyloidiasis in healthy people can only show mild symptoms such as: digestive disorders, rash, fatigue, loss of appetite... However, in immunocompromised patients, long-term use of corticosteroids or immunosuppressants can also cause strongyloidiasis hyperinfection syndrome or disseminated strongyloidiasis, with worm larvae invading many organs such as the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, brain... accompanied by severe infections, life-threatening and very difficult and expensive treatment", Dr. Duong added.
How do strongyloides enter the body?
According to Dr. Tran Van Bac, Deputy Head of the Emergency Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, adult female strongyloides live in the small intestine, lay eggs, the eggs hatch into larvae (rod-shaped larvae), excreted in the stool. After a few days in the soil, the larvae develop into the form that can cause infection (filamentous larvae). If the larvae come into contact with a person's bare skin, they are able to penetrate the skin into the body. The larvae then travel through various routes to the small intestine, where they develop into adult worms in about 2 weeks.
Larvae that do not come into contact with humans can develop into adult worms (males and females) that can reproduce in the soil for several generations before their larvae come into contact with humans.
Some larvae in the small intestine can reinfect by penetrating the intestinal wall and directly into the person's bloodstream; or by being excreted in the stool and absorbed through the skin around the anus or the skin of the buttocks or thighs.
In both cases, the larvae travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, then to the throat and back to the intestines to cause another infection – known as autoinfection.
To prevent strongyloidiasis infection as recommended by doctors, each individual needs to practice personal hygiene, eat hygienically, and not defecate indiscriminately; People who regularly come into contact with soil while working should wear protective equipment: gloves, shoes, boots; at the same time, improve resistance, exercise, eat nutritious food...
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/suy-gan-viem-phoi-nhiem-trung-mau-nguy-kich-vi-nhiem-giun-luon-192241024150334276.htm
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