11/2222. Embolic bacterial aneurysm of the basilar artery: case report. A patient with basilar artery rupture caused by a septic embolus originating from a mitral valve vegetation is reported. The pathogenesis, investigation and management of infected cerebral aneurysms are reviewed. ( info) |
| Serial, clinical, clinicopathologic and histologic studies performed simultaneously following onset of PS-AGN in children for a period of up to 144 months revealed no evidence of progression to chronic glomerulonephritis. Although acute morphologic changes were more severe in renal tissue obtained from patients with AGN following streptococcal upper respiratory infection than following pyoderma, the acute manifestations in both groups subsided 6 to 12 weeks after onset. Cumulative morphologic healing occurred in 20% of patients at 24 months, in 43% at 48 months after onset of PS-AGN; 1 patient who was unhealed at 49 months was lost to follow-up. In 2 patients (6%), acute histologic exacerbations without clinical signs occurred within 24 months after onset. Subsequent healing was documented histologically. Addis counts remained abnormal in a high percentage of patients throughout the 12 years of observation and did not correlate with the histologic findings of renal biopsy tissue. The occasional demonstration of renal vascular disease and/or hypertension may merely reflect the early development of spontaneous essential hypertension although the possibility of a relationship to the previous attack of PS-AGN is intriguing. This question cannot be answered at this time. Renal biopsy studies are more dependable than Addis counts in assessing the course of PS-AGN. The significance of persistence of immunofluorescent and/or electron microscopic changes (subepithelial dense deposits) many years after onset in 58% of 12 patients studied, at a time when a majority of patients (84%) revealed healing by light microscopy, remains to be assessed. ( info) |
13/2222. Pacemaker-related endocarditis. Report of 7 cases and review of the literature. We report on 7 patients with pacemaker endocarditis diagnosed during the workup of long-standing fever. Persistent positive blood cultures and echocardiography led to the diagnosis in 6 patients whereas autopsy was diagnostic in another. Causative microorganisms were staphylococcus epidermidis (3), staphylococcus lugdunensis (1), pseudomonas aeruginosa (1), streptococcus bovis (1), and streptococcus mitis-streptococcus sanguis (1). pulmonary embolism was present in nearly 50% of the cases, a figure clearly higher than previously reported. In all but 1 case the initial medical approach was not successful, and thus the pacing system was finally removed. None of the cases relapsed after the removal. We have reviewed the literature regarding pacemaker endocarditis, particularly with respect to treatment. ( info) |
14/2222. Recurrent anterior uveitis associated with streptococcal pharyngitis in a patient with a history of poststreptococcal syndrome. PURPOSE: To provide additional evidence that anterior uveitis can be a manifestation of poststreptococcal syndrome. METHOD: A case report providing follow-up information on a previously described patient. RESULTS: An adolescent girl in whom anterior uveitis was the only manifestation of poststreptococcal syndrome subsequently developed recurrent anterior uveitis after another episode of streptococcal pharyngitis. CONCLUSION: Anterior uveitis can recur in a manner similar to other manifestations of poststreptococcal syndrome after reinfection with group A streptococci. ( info) |
15/2222. Enterococcal endocarditis: duration and mode of treatment. This report summarizes data on sixteen patients with enterococcal endocarditis treated with penicillin and streptomycin. The experience reported suggests that a four week period is adequate for routine therapy in these patients, as in other forms of streptococcal endocarditis. It provides an additional group of patients successfully treated with penicillin and streptomycin. Two relapses were encountered. One of these received inadequate daily doses of penicillin. The other patient was clearly a failure of penicillin and streptomycin, but the failure in this instance could not be attributed to foreshortened treatment (6 weeks) or to high level streptomycin resistance of the infecting strain of enterococcus. ( info) |
16/2222. Group B streptococcus infection, not birth asphyxia. This case illustrates 2 main points. Firstly, fetal infection can mimic exactly both the immediate and delayed signs of perinatal asphyxia. Secondly, the placenta may hold the key to the diagnosis of sepsis which may be made difficult in the neonate by labour ward practices such as the use of intrapartum and immediate newborn antibiotics. We strongly support the recommendation that newborn blood and fetal membrane cultures should always be obtained in babies with a diagnosis of 'intrapartum asphyxia and fetal distress' (1). To this we would add the recommendation that placental histology be performed in these circumstances. ( info) |
| Our objective was to determine whether tonsillectomy is beneficial in the treatment of recurrent childhood guttate psoriasis that is associated with recurrent streptococcal pharyngitis and tonsillitis. We retrospectively reviewed the cases of two children who were referred to our facility for treatment of repeated exacerbations of psoriasis and recurrent streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis. Both patients experienced a significant improvement in their psoriasis after undergoing adenotonsillectomy, and both were completely free of psoriatic outbreaks after 16 months of follow-up. We conclude that tonsillectomy appears to be of benefit in the treatment of children with recurrent guttate psoriasis and recurrent streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis, and we hope that further investigation will be undertaken. ( info) |
18/2222. Streptococcal keratitis after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis. A 24-year-old healthy male underwent uncomplicated laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in left eye. One day after the surgery, he complained of ocular pain and multiple corneal stromal infiltrates had developed in left eye. Immediately, the corneal interface and stromal bed were cleared, and maximal antibiotic treatments with fortified tobramycin (1.2%) and cefazolin (5%) were given topically. The causative organism was identified as 'Streptococcus viridans' both on smear and culture. Two days after antibiotic therapy was initiated, the ocular inflammation and corneal infiltrates had regressed and ocular pain was relieved. One month later, the patient's best corrected visual acuity had returned to 20/20 with -0.75 -1.00 x 10 degrees, however minimal stromal scarring still remained. This case demonstrates that microbial keratitis after LASIK, if treated promptly, does not lead to a permanent reduction in visual acuity. ( info) |
19/2222. Sudden death associated with group A streptococcal infection in an 8-year-old girl with undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. An 8-year-old girl died suddenly without prior symptoms. Post-mortem examination identified both systemic group A streptococcal infection and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She had no history of cardiac symptoms and was not in a high-risk group for sudden death due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We believe the disseminated but asymptomatic group A streptococcal infection precipitated her early death from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Sudden unexpected death during systemic infection should be followed by post-mortem examination to look for evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as this diagnosis has genetic implications for other family members. ( info) |
20/2222. Persistent crying as predominant manifestation of sepsis in infants and newborns. Acute episodes of unexplained crying in infants may be due to serious and even life-threatening conditions. We present six infants in whom excessive crying was the predominant initial manifestation of sepsis for a period of time that ranged from 2 to 10 hours, before other symptoms or signs became evident. This led to a diagnostic delay in two patients who were considered initially to have infant colic. sepsis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute unexplained crying in infants. ( info) |