Cryptosporidium: Difference between revisions
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==Diagnosis== | ==Diagnosis== | ||
* Stool acid-staining test | |||
* Stool Culture | |||
==Management== | ==Management== | ||
Revision as of 19:33, 27 March 2015
Background
Cryptosporidium is an protozoa that can cause diarrhea. Cryptosporidium is mostly commonly seen in HIV positive patients and is the most common cause of chronic diarrhea in HIV patients. Cryptosporidium oocysts are 4-6 µm in diameter and exhibit partial acid-fast staining.
Environmental exposures include: People who swim regularly in pools with insufficient sanitation, hikers who drink untreated water, people who handle infected cattle.
Clinical Presentation
Symptoms usually appear one week after infection which include:
- watery diarrhea
- dehydration
- stomach cramps/pain
- weight loss
- fever
- nausea/vomiting
Differential Diagnosis
Acute diarrhea
Infectious
- Viral (e.g. rotavirus)
- Bacterial
- Campylobacter
- Shigella
- Salmonella (non-typhi)
- Escherichia coli
- E. coli 0157:H7
- Yersinia enterocolitica
- Vibrio cholerae
- Clostridium difficile
- Parasitic
- Toxin
Noninfectious
- GI Bleed
- Appendicitis
- Mesenteric Ischemia
- Diverticulitis
- Adrenal Crisis
- Thyroid Storm
- Toxicologic exposures
- Antibiotic or drug-associated
Watery Diarrhea
- Enterotoxigenic E. coli (most common cause of watery diarrhea)[1]
- Norovirus (often has prominent vomiting)
- Campylobacter
- Non-typhoidal Salmonella
- Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC)
- Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis
Traveler's Diarrhea
Diagnosis
- Stool acid-staining test
- Stool Culture
Management
Disposition
See Also
External Links
References
- ↑ Marx et al. “Cholera and Gastroenteritis caused by Noncholera Vibrio Species”. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine 8th edition vol 1 pg 1245-1246.