L-Tryptophan and Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome ("EMS")
Date published
Jan, 2011
Last updated
21 Jan 2020
Summary
National epidemic of new syndrome in 1989 quickly traced to a commercial product. Case study addresses surveillance, bias, criteria for causation.
Objectives:
- Discuss issues related to rapid establishment of national surveillance for a newly recognized and little understood disorder
- Discuss development of case definitions
- Describe the elements of design and the advantages and disadvantages of case‑control versus cohort studies
- Discuss some of the biases that might have affected these studies
- Calculate and interpret a relative risk, odds ratio, and attributable risk percent
- List and evaluate the criteria for causation