Ciguatera fish poisoning.

Cases of ciguatera fish poisoning no longer are confined to endemic areas. This makes awareness of this entity important. The diagnosis usually is made by the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and of neurological symptoms such as paresthesias, paresis, and pruritus. The detection of ciguatoxin in the ingested fish by any of the available bioassays, will confirm the diagnosis. The treatment of this food poisoning is supportive, although intravenous mannitol is reported to be safe and effective. The prognosis is good and complete recovery is to be expected. However, relapses can occur, especially on re-exposure to the toxin.