Clinical features of acute schistosomiasis in China

Objective To investigate the clinical features of acute schistosomiasis in China, and to improve the understanding of this disease among clinicians. Methods CNKI was searched with “acute schistosomiasis”as a key word for Chinese articles published from January2000 to December 2016 to conduct a retrospective analysis of clinical studies on acute schistosomiasis in China. Results A total of 26 clinical studies with 1380 patients with acute schistosomiasis were included. Hubei had the highest number of patients ( 656 patients) , followed by Sichuan with 312 patients, Hunan with 154 patients, Anhui with 154 patients, Yunnan with 51 patients, Jiangxi with 24 patients, Jiangsu with 19 patients, and Zhejiang with 10 patients. Most of the patients were school-aged children and young adults. All patients had a clear contact history of infected water, and the onset time was mainly summer and autumn. Clinical features included pyrexia [1256 ( 91. 0%) ], diarrhea [766 ( 55. 5%) ], cough [650 ( 47. 1%) ], abdominal pain [538 ( 39. 0%) ], fear of cold [410 ( 29. 7% ], stool with blood and pus [309 ( 22. 4%) ], abdominal distension [182 ( 13. 2%) ], headache [50 ( 3. 6%) ], and cercarial dermatitis [48 ( 3. 5%) ]. Laboratory examination showed leukocytosis [885 ( 64. 1%) ] and eosinophilia [998 ( 72. 3%) ], microscopic examination of stool found Schistosoma eggs or blood fluke miracidia in 901 patients ( 65. 3%) , serum immunological detection showed positive results in 639 patients ( 46. 3%) , and ultrasound examination showed splenomegaly in 635 patients ( 46. 0%) . Conclusion Clinicians should consider the possibility of acute schistosomiasis for patients with a contact history of epidemic area who experience pyrexia, abdominal pain, and eosinophilia.