Diagnostic significance of blood eosinophilia in returning travelers

Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Feb 1;34(3):407-11. doi: 10.1086/338026. Epub 2001 Dec 19.

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the predictive value of blood eosinophilia (total white blood cell count with > or =8% eosinophils) for the diagnosis of travel-related infections in 14,298 patients who returned from developing countries. The data show that blood eosinophilia in travelers returning from developing countries has only limited predictive value for the presence of travel-related infections. However, the likelihood of the presence of helminth infections increases considerably with the extent of eosinophilia.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Animals
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Eosinophilia / complications
  • Eosinophilia / diagnosis*
  • Female
  • Helminthiasis / complications*
  • Helminthiasis / immunology
  • Helminths
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Travel