Haisook
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I wonder what parts of this subject should be studied for the USMLE...? Here in Egypt, we have a BIG book on it, talking on nearly every parasite you'd imagine. I'm asking cause most of these parasites do not exist in America, thus rationally they mean nothing to the US specialists.
Also which main subject does it go under?
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| mjl1717
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Goes under Microbiology
Popular parasites for USMLE off the top of my head: Guardia lambia, entameba histolytica, Trichomonas, Plasmodium, Schistosomes, (Phyllums Nematodes and Cestodes), Balantidium Coli, Leishmaniasis, Naeglaria, etc
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| Haisook
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Well, I've heard it's only 4 pages or something in the First Aid book.. What you've mentioned is a lot.. 
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| Haisook
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What do you say guys? Should I study this subject seriously?
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| Doc2378
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Yes, I would recommend spending a reasonable amount of time of these bugs....there are not many we are responsible for this exam but at the same time some of these HY bugs are very frequently asked in the exam where they usually give a history of travel to endemic areas. Don't neglect these HY bugs!
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| Haisook
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Thanks Doc2378 for your reply, but..
For instance, schistsoma hematobia, mansoni, and japonicum. Those are only present in Africa, and Japan. Are they of a great importance in the US? Do I need to study the DETAILS? I'm from Egypt - a developing country - so we have a lot of that junk in our syllabus!
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| P4a99
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I know this is a three year old thread. But I would say just read Microbiology MRSA then FA. As far as I remember you will not find any Paragonimus westermani, Schistosoma japonicum, Biomphilaria alexandria, Halzoun, bla bla bla bla
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| bactitech
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Please do remember that any of your future patients that have traveled out of the US to endemic areas are exposed to many parasites. The most common parasite in the US is Giardia lamblia. Cryptosporidium can be a problem with HIV positive patients, as there is virtually no cure for this.
I would think you would need to know what is endemic where. Returning vets from Iraq are exposed to Leishmania. Naegleria is a problem in Florida and has been known to infect water skiiers when water is pushed up the nose in a fall on skis. Acanthamoeba can infect eyes if people use crummy contact lens solutions. They really ARE everywhere!
I don't think you can just assume that you will never run into a parasite because you are practicing in the US.
Measurements are everything with parasites. I always stress to new MT's that you must measure what you see. This can rule in or rule out certain parasites. Entamoebas are particularly hard to identify microscopically so one must know the measurements and how many nuclei you are seeing. E. histolytica only has four. E. coli has >4 in the cyst form. If you see >4 nuclei it cannot be E. histolytica, assuming all other measurments fall within its parameters.
Good luck everyone - I know it's lots of material to cover. I've had the luxury of reading O&P preps for most of my working career.
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