The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
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International travel is increasing and a significant number of travellers will develop a febrile illness during or shortly after their return from the tropics. The differential diagnosis is broad and a systematic approach to the management of these patients is required in order to establish the diagnosis and to initiate prompt and effective treatment. Fever may be due to infectious agents found only in tropical countries, or due to infections unrelated to travel and found worldwide. ⋯ Specialist advice on the investigation and management of returning travellers should be sought from infectious diseases physicians and microbiologists. Patients with malaria or enteric fever may deteriorate rapidly and travellers should be advised to seek prompt medical attention if they become unwell after travel to the tropics. This review will focus on some of the more important imported infections, diagnostic clues from the history, examination and investigations, and important considerations in their management.
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an arrhythmia of increasing prevalence associated with a reducible risk of stroke. We conducted a systematic review to address five questions relating to how we can best detect AF: 1. Are there useful screening tests to determine who should have a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG)? Potential screening tests, all with acceptable sensitivity, include pulse palpation, single-lead ECG and newer technologies such as modified sphygmomanometers or a finger probe device. ⋯ What is the impact of the use of different ECG monitoring strategies (e.g. Holter monitoring, serial ECGs, continuous ECG) on AF detection rates post-stroke? In patients post-stroke, a single ECG will miss cases of PAF which can be detected by longer duration monitoring such as Holter monitoring, cardiac event recorders and serial ECGs. Further research into the cost-effectiveness of these methods, the duration of monitoring required and the clinical significance of the PAF detected is needed.