AJTMH ASTMH MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION: astmh@astmh.org
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 81(1), 2009, pp. 75-81
Copyright © 2009 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Schunk, M.
Right arrow Articles by Bretzel, G.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Schunk, M.
Right arrow Articles by Bretzel, G.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
Medline Plus Health Information
*Antibiotics

Outcome of Patients with Buruli Ulcer after Surgical Treatment with or without Antimycobacterial Treatment in Ghana

Mirjam Schunk*, William Thompson, Erasmus Klutse, Jörg Nitschke, Kwame Opare-Asamoah, Ruth Thompson, Erna Fleischmann, Vera Siegmund, Karl-Heinz Herbinger, Ohene Adjei, Bernhard Fleischer, Thomas Loscher, AND Gisela Bretzel
Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (DITM), Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Agogo, Ghana; Dunkwa Governmental Hospital, Dunkwa-on-Offin, Ghana; Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Hamburg, Germany; Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research and Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi, Ghana

This study assesses the frequency of recurrences and treatment outcome after surgery of buruli ulcer disease (BUD) with or without concomitant antimycobacterial treatment. Of 129 laboratory-confirmed BUD patients who underwent surgery in two treatment centers in Ghana, 79 (61%) were retrieved for follow-up 4–29 months after the initial treatment. Among 7 (9%) recurrent cases no significant association was found between recurrences and clinical or treatment specific factors including antimycobacterial treatment. In 21 (27%) patients, a reduced range of motion (ROM) of one or more joints was detected. Lesions other than nodules, joint involvement, and skin grafting were identified as independent risk factors. Functional limitations hampering daily activities were perceived by 22% of the patients. Compared with other studies the recurrence rate was relatively low, functional limitations were, however, frequent. This emphasizes the need for improvement of pre- and post-treatment wound care as well as rehabilitation programs.

Received October 30, 2008. Accepted for publication April 15, 2009.

* Address correspondence to Mirjam Schunk, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (DITM), Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, 80802 Munich, Germany. E-mail: schunk{at}lrz.uni-muenchen.de

Authors’ addresses: Mirjam Schunk, Erna Fleischmann, Vera Siegmund, Karl-Heinz Herbinger, Thomas Loscher, and Gisela Bretzel, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (DITM), Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Leopoldstrasse 5, 80802 Munich, Germany. William Thompson, Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Agogo, Ghana. Erasmus Klutse, Dunkwa Governmental Hospital, Dunkwa-on-Offin, Ghana. Jörg Nitschke and Bernhard Fleischer, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Bernhard-Nocht Strasse 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany. Kwame Opare-Asamoah, Ruth Thompson, and Ohene Adjei, Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University Post Office, Kumasi, Ghana.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.