BACKGROUND Loiasis is an uncommon and poorly understood parasitic disease outside endemic areas of Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and biological patterns and treatment of imported loiasis by sub-Saharan migrants diagnosed in Madrid, Spain. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted with sub-Saharan immigrants seen at the Tropical Medicine Unit of the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, Spain, a reference center, over 19 years. Categorical variables were expressed as frequency counts and percentages. Continuous variables were expressed as the mean and standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR: Q3-Q1). Chi-square tests were used to assess the association between categorical variables. The measured outcomes were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidential interval. Continuous variables were compared by Student's t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. Binary logistic regression models were used. P <  0.05 was considered a statistically significant difference. RESULTS One hundred thirty-one migrants from tropical and subtropical areas with loiasis were identified. Forty-nine patients were male (37.4%). The migrants' mean age (±SD) was 42.3 ± 17.3 years, and 124 (94.7%) were from Equatorial Guinea. The median time (IQR) between arrival in Spain and the first consultation was 2 (1-7) months. One hundred fifteen migrants had eosinophilia, and one hundred thirteen had hyper-IgE syndrome. Fifty-seven patients had pruritus (43.5%), and thirty patients had Calabar swelling (22.9%). Seventy-three patients had coinfections with other filarial nematodes (54.2%), and 58 migrants had only Loa loa infections (45.8%). One hundred two patients (77.9%) were treated; 45.1% (46/102) patients were treated with one drug, and 54.9% (56/102) patients were treated with combined therapy. Adverse reactions were described in 14 (10.7%) migrants. CONCLUSIONS Our patients presented early clinical manifestations and few atypical features. Thus, physicians should systematically consider loiasis in migrants with a typical presentation. However, considering that 72.5% of the patients had only positive microfilaremia without any symptoms, we suggest searching for microfilaremia in every migrant from endemic countries for loiasis presenting with eosinophilia.

中文翻译：

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在西班牙居住的撒哈拉以南非洲移民的偏爱，重点是赤道几内亚的病例。

背景技术狂犬病是一种在非洲流行地区以外罕见且鲜为人知的寄生虫病。这项研究的目的是描述在西班牙马德里诊断出的撒哈拉以南非洲移民所患的进口性骨质疏松症的临床和生物学特征以及治疗方法。方法回顾性研究在19年间对西班牙马德里卡洛斯三世医院热带医学科的撒哈拉以南移民进行了回顾。分类变量表示为频率计数和百分比。连续变量表示为平均值和标准偏差（SD）或中位数和四分位数范围（IQR：Q3-Q1）。卡方检验用于评估分类变量之间的关联。测得的结果表示为具有95％机密间隔的优势比（OR）。连续变量通过学生t检验或Mann-Whitney U检验进行比较。使用二元逻辑回归模型。P <0.05被认为是统计学上的显着差异。结果确定了131例来自热带和亚热带地区患有疯病的移民。四十九名患者为男性（37.4％）。移民的平均年龄（±SD）为42.3±17.3岁，来自赤道几内亚的人口为124（94.7％）。从抵达西班牙到第一次咨询的平均时间（IQR）为2（1-7）个月。一百一十五名移民患有嗜酸性粒细胞增多症，一百一十三名患有高IgE综合征。五十七名患者有瘙痒（43.5％），三十名患者有卡拉巴肿胀（22.9％）。73名患者与其他丝虫线虫同时感染（54.2％），而58名移民仅有Loa loa感染（45.8％）。治疗了102例患者（77.9％）；45.1％（46/102）患者接受了一种药物的治疗，54.9％（56/102）患者接受了联合治疗。14名（10.7％）移民中描述了不良反应。结论我们的患者表现出早期的临床表现，很少有非典型特征。因此，医师应系统地考虑典型表现的移民中的狂热症。但是，考虑到72.5％的患者只有微丝虫病阳性而没有任何症状，我们建议在每一个来自流行国家的移民中搜索微丝虫病，以表现出嗜酸性粒细胞增多症。结论我们的患者表现出早期的临床表现，很少有非典型特征。因此，医师应系统地考虑典型表现的移民中的狂热症。但是，考虑到72.5％的患者只有微丝虫病阳性而没有任何症状，我们建议在每一个来自流行国家的移民中搜索微丝虫病，以表现出嗜酸性粒细胞增多症。结论我们的患者表现出早期的临床表现，很少有非典型特征。因此，医师应系统地考虑典型表现的移民中的狂热症。但是，考虑到72.5％的患者只有微丝虫病阳性而没有任何症状，我们建议在每一个来自流行国家的移民中搜索微丝虫病，以表现出嗜酸性粒细胞增多症。