No abstract

Erythromelalgia is a rare disease characterised by a triad of a clinical syndrome of redness, warmth and painful extremities. We present the case of a male adolescent with no prior medical history who presents to our family medicine clinic with a 3-month history of bilateral feet erythema followed by episodes of cyanosis in bilateral toes. Given his history, the findings on clinical examination, and the lack of any pathology on the diagnostic testing, the patient is diagnosed with erythromelalgia. He is then counselled on both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for his condition and is discharged on non-pharmacological treatment options such as leg elevation, cooling with a fan and limiting exposure to heat. The patient is also advised to perform an annual complete blood count given the association of erythromelalgia with myeloproliferative disorders.

Objective: This study investigated the antibacterial activity of Ilex paraguariensis extracts against 32 different strains of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) through the determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Mutant Prevention Concentration (MPC), Mutant Selection Window (MSW), and the detection of virulence genes by multiplex PCR assays. Results: The MIC values of Ilex paraguariensis against Salmonella spp. strains varied between 0.78 mg/ml and 6.25 mg/ml with a MIC 90 of 3.12 mg/ml. The highest MPC in this study was 48 mg/ml yielding a Mutant Selection Window of 41.75 mg/ml. The MSW values of the remaining strains varied between 1.56 and 8.87 mg/ml. Genes of pathogenicity detected in Salmonella spp. isolates were most commonly the stn, sdiA, invA, sopB, invH, and sopE genes. The antibacterial activity of Yerba Mate extracts was not affected by the antimicrobial resistance patterns or pathogenicity genes expressed. More work is needed to identify the active antibacterial compound(s) responsible for the antibacterial activity.