Trichinellosis/Trichinosis Treatment & Management

  • Author: L Kristian Arnold, MD; Chief Editor: Rick Kulkarni, MD   more...
 
Updated: Dec 7, 2010
 

Prehospital Care

Institute appropriate supportive therapy for patients who present with symptoms of neurologic or cardiac involvement.

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Emergency Department Care

Patients with mild cases require no special care.

Patients with more severe cases of muscle involvement may need basic supportive therapy (eg, oxygen, intravenous fluids).

Cardiac monitoring is suggested for patients who present early. Cardiac findings are unlikely to develop late in the course (ie, after peripheral muscle invasion has started).

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Consultations

  • Infectious disease/tropical medicine/travel medicine specialists
  • Surgeons (for muscle biopsy)
  • Cardiologists
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

L Kristian Arnold, MD  Chief Medical Officer, ArLac Global Health Services, Lexington, MA, Medical Director, Boston Police Department, Assistant Professor (retired), Emergency Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine

L Kristian Arnold, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and Massachusetts Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Theodore J Gaeta, DO, MPH, FACEP  Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College; Vice Chairman and Program Director of Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Methodist Hospital; Academic Chair, Adjunct Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, St George's University School of Medicine

Theodore J Gaeta, DO, MPH, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: Alliance for Clinical Education, American College of Emergency Physicians, Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, New York Academy of Medicine, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Mark L Plaster, MD, JD  Executive Editor, Emergency Physicians Monthly

Mark L Plaster, MD, JD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine and American College of Emergency Physicians

Disclosure: M L Plaster Publishing Co LLC Ownership interest Management position

John D Halamka, MD, MS  Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD 

Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

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Trichinosis. Life cycle of Trichinella species parasite. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Photomicrograph depicting numbers of Trichinella spiralis cysts seen embedded in a muscle tissue specimen, in a case of trichinellosis. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 
 
 
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