ABSTRACT
Twenty patients presenting with chronic ill-defined illnesses in a rural practice were investigated virologically. The only positive finding was the detection of elevated Coxsackie B titres in 16 of these patients. Three had experienced mainly cardiovascular symptoms; the remaining 13 are thought to have suffered from myalgic encephalomyelitis. This is a distressing and often prolonged illness, the cause of which is as yet unknown but is suspected of having a viral aetiology.
Subject(s)
Encephalomyelitis/diagnosis , Pleurodynia, Epidemic/diagnosis , Adult , Aged , Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Enterovirus B, Human/immunology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , ScotlandABSTRACT
For various reasons we were faced with the choice of carrying out total parenteral nutrition of a patient at home, or allowing him to die untreated.The logistic problems of organizing supplies and technical support in a rural practice 32 km (20 miles) from the nearest hospital are described, in the hope of showing that in better circumstances carrying out total parenteral nutrition at home is feasible in general practice.
