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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J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Jan 2012
Biography Historical ArticleA sceptic and an empiric in medicine: George Young (1692-1757) and the beginnings of the Scottish medical Enlightenment.
The Edinburgh surgeon-apothecary and physician George Young was an empiric who emphasised observation, practical experience and a sceptical approach to evidence in medicine. He was an early member of the Rankenian Club, a group of young intellectuals whose ideas were to be at the heart of Scottish Enlightenment thinking. ⋯ Young was an important, but to date relatively neglected, figure in the early years of the Edinburgh Medical School and the Scottish Enlightenment. This paper describes what is known of his life and work, aims to assess his legacy and suggests that he deserves greater recognition and appreciation.