1/66. drowning and near-drowning--some lessons learnt.Over a period of sixteen months, 17 cases of submersion injury (encompassing victims of drowning and near-drowning) were attended to at our Accident and Emergency Department at Changi General Hospital. Most of the victims were inexperienced recreational swimmers, and in 6 of them, early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation enabled them to recover without severe morbidity. Non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema with resulting chest infection was the commonest complication in survivors. Most of the episodes occurred in an urban setting in swimming pools without supervision by lifeguards. About two-thirds of the cases were adults over the age of fifteen years. In addition, there were patients in whom submersion injury was associated with more sinister conditions (fits, traumatic cervical spine injury, dysbarism, intoxication from alcohol or drugs), some of which were unsuspected by the doctors initially. Apart from the immediate threats of hypoxia and pulmonary injury, active search for any possible precipitating causes and associated occult injury should be made. In this study, the determinants of survival from near-drowning were early institution of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, presence of pupil reactivity, and presence of a palpable pulse and cardiac sinus rhythm.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/66. brain stem abscess treated surgically. Wtih special note upon the employment of thorium dioxide.A 10-year-old girl, with congenital heart disease, harboring a brain stem abscess, was recently treated at the UCLA Hospital. Needle aspirations of the abscess was performed through a posterior occipital craniectomy, and thorium dioxide (Thorotrast) was placed within the abscess cavity as a marker. Postoperatively, the patient improved temporarily but died 18 days later. autopsy examination included radioactive analysis of brain and liver tissue. Radioautographs were superimposed on H&E preparations of the abscess wall to localize the extent of activity of the thorium dioxide. The unusual occurrence of this abscess in a young patient, clinically diagnosed and treated by operation, provided a rare opportunity to assess the problem of the surgical accessibility of brain stem abscess as well as to reevaluate a role for thorium dioxide as a marker for intracranial purulent collections.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/66. Inherited complete factor I deficiency associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, higher susceptibility to infection and low levels of factor H.Here we describe two new cases of complete deficiency of factor I (fI) in two sisters from a consanguineous Brazilian family. The eldest sibling (20-year-old) developed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) early during childhood while the youngest had been committed on several occasions owing to repeated infections although she was asymptomatic for auto-immune diseases. We also detected lower concentrations of C3 and factor B in both sisters. Biological functions dependent on complement activation such as the production of opsonins and killing of phagocytozed micro-organisms, chemotactic factors and haemolytic activity were all significantly reduced in both probands. Consistent with the absence of fI and low levels of fH, a deregulated production of C3b was observed by bidimensional electrophoresis in sera of both the probands.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/66. Physiological activity in mediastinal teratomata.The clinical details of two patients with benign mediastinal teratomata are presented. Both patients developed inflammation of the root of the neck, the first after a small dose of radiotherapy and the second after a larger dose of radiotherapy and exploration of the thoracic inlet. In both cases, exploration of the inflamed area was followed by persistent discharge of fluid which was sterile on culture. In the first case, this was found to have a high cholesterol, lipid, and amylase content. In both cases, a benign mixed teratoma, with contents including intestinal epithelium and pancreatic tissue, was removed at thoracotomy. The suggestion is made that leakage of digestive enzymes from pancreatic, intestinal or salivary tissue may be a cause of inflammation in and around teratomata, especially after surgical exploration. Early thoracotomy is advised when the condition is recognized.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/66. Recurrent bacterial infections in four siblings with neutropenia, eosinophilia, hyperimmunoglobulinemia A, and defective neutrophil chemotaxis.Four siblings with recurrent bacterial infections, neutrophil chemotactic defect, neutropenia, and eosinophilia were studied. During periods of infection the peripheral neutrophil count increased to normal, while the eosinophilia disappeared. In addition, these children had high levels of serum IgA and poor antibody responses to tetanus and polio vaccinations. A defect in cell-mediated immunity was demonstrated by an absent or weak reactivity to various skin test antigens and by abnormal lymph node histology. Thus these siblings had an unusual combination of defective inflammatory response and immunologic abnormalities.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/66. Distinct mutations in IRAK-4 confer hyporesponsiveness to lipopolysaccharide and interleukin-1 in a patient with recurrent bacterial infections.We identified previously a patient with recurrent bacterial infections who failed to respond to gram-negative LPS in vivo, and whose leukocytes were profoundly hyporesponsive to LPS and IL-1 in vitro. We now demonstrate that this patient also exhibits deficient responses in a skin blister model of aseptic inflammation. A lack of IL-18 responsiveness, coupled with diminished LPS and/or IL-1-induced nuclear factor-kappaB and activator protein-1 translocation, p38 phosphorylation, gene expression, and dysregulated IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK)-1 activity in vitro support the hypothesis that the defect lies within the signaling pathway common to toll-like receptor 4, IL-1R, and IL-18R. This patient expresses a "compound heterozygous" genotype, with a point mutation (C877T in cDNA) and a two-nucleotide, AC deletion (620-621del in cDNA) encoded by distinct alleles of the IRAK-4 gene (GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession nos. AF445802 and AY186092). Both mutations encode proteins with an intact death domain, but a truncated kinase domain, thereby precluding expression of full-length IRAK-4 (i.e., a recessive phenotype). When overexpressed in HEK293T cells, neither truncated form augmented endogenous IRAK-1 kinase activity, and both inhibited endogenous IRAK-1 activity modestly. Thus, IRAK-4 is pivotal in the development of a normal inflammatory response initiated by bacterial or nonbacterial insults.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/66. Management of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis with spinal cord compression in the elderly.Five elderly and debilitated patients presented with compressive myelopathy due to pyogenic spondylitis. All had undergone surgery which consisted of eradication of the infected tissue via an anterior approach followed by primary bone graft. Supplementary antibiotic treatment was determined by intraoperative bacteriological culture. This aggressive approach, disregarding the patients' advanced age and poor general medical state, resulted in total resolution of the neurological deficit and the patients' return to their preoperative everyday activity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/66. Atypical microbial infections of digestive tract may contribute to diarrhea in mucopolysaccharidosis patients: a MPS I case study.BACKGROUND: mucopolysaccharidoses are heritable, metabolic diseases caused by deficiency in an activity of one of specific lysosomal enzymes involved in degradation of mucoplysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans). Among many medical problems of patients with mucopolysaccharidoses, there are frequent episodes of diarrhea of unknown etiology. CASE PRESENTATION: A girl, diagnosed enzymatically for mucopolysaccharidosis type I (deficiency of alpha-L-iduronidase) at the age of 3 years and 9 months, was investigated until the age of 5 years and 4 months. Frequent loose stools and episodes of diarrhea, often accompanied by vomiting, were encountered. Detailed microbiological analyses were performed and atypical microbial infections (most often enetropathogenic escherichia coli, but also other species, like pseudomonas aeruginosa or staphylococcus aureus, as well as adenoviruses) of the digestive tract were found in most severe diarrhea episodes. Often, isolations of pathogenic bacterial strains from stools of the investigated patient suffering from diarrhea were not obvious during the first screening, and only detailed microbiological studies, including re-isolation of colonies, gave the results of isolation of particular pathogenic strains (especially in the case of enetropathogenic E. coli). CONCLUSION: We conclude that atypical microbial infections of digestive tract may contribute significantly to diarrhea in mucopolysaccaridosis patients. Since isolated strains were not typical and their isolation was often possible only after detailed investigation (not during a standard screening), such atypical microbial infections of digestive tract of mucopolysaccharidosis patients could be usually overlooked to date. Importantly, these atypical infections could be effectively treated with antimicrobial agents.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/66. Increased chemoattractant induced neutrophil oxidative burst, accelerated apoptosis, and dysregulated tyrosine phosphorylation associated with lifelong bacterial infections.A boy with lifelong recurrent bacterial infection at cutaneous and mucosal sites was investigated. PMN oxidative burst to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and zymosan was normal but was increased 20- to 50-fold upon C5a or formyl-met-leu-phe (fMLP) chemoattractant stimulation, accompanied by accelerated PMN apoptosis. His PMNs showed increased constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of 21-, 25-, and 44-kDa proteins, and of src-family kinases (p59(hck), p58(fgr), and p53/56(lyn)). phosphorylation was abnormally enhanced following fMLP stimulation. Expression and activity of the major PMN tyrosine phosphatases, i.e., CD45, CD148, and SHP-1 and -2, was normal. However, dephosphorylation of phospho-p58(fgr) and phospho-p53/56(lyn) by lysates of patient's PMNs was enhanced. Thus, another phosphatase may be overactive, perhaps dephosphorylating a regulatory (inhibitory) site on a protein tyrosine kinase, accounting for the abnormal PMN tyrosine phosphorylation and function. With age (now 13 years), T-cell lymphopenia and loss of T-cell responses developed. This appears to be a unique primary immunodeficiency with abnormal PMN oxidative and apoptotic responses to chemoattractants, dysregulated protein tyrosine phosphorylation, serious bacterial infection, and T-lymphocyte attrition.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/66. Populations at risk for penicillin-induced seizures.OBJECTIVE: This article reviews principles associated with penicillin's epileptogenic activity in an effort to alert clinicians of patients at high risk for penicillin-induced seizures. The case presentation exemplifies the most prevalent factor predisposing patients to penicillin-induced seizures--renal impairment. DATA SOURCES: References are identified from pertinent articles and books. DATA SYNTHESIS: The epileptogenic properties of penicillin are explained on the basis of the beta-lactam ring's binding to gamma aminobutyric acid receptors. Several patient populations are at risk for potentially fatal neurotoxic symptoms. Most of these patients demonstrate impaired renal function, either as the primary condition or secondary to an infectious process. The other at-risk populations include infants and the elderly, patients with meningitis, patients undergoing intraventricular antibiotic therapy, and patients with a history of seizures. Treatment remains controversial; however, benzodiazepines theoretically produce a favorable response. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacokinetic parameters explain patient populations most at risk; a guideline equation has been recommended to allow clinicians to make appropriate dose adjustments based on creatinine clearance. physicians and pharmacists must recognize the populations most at risk for high-dose, penicillin-induced neurotoxicities; monitor these patients at least during the first 72 hours, and reduce or discontinue therapy when appropriate.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = activity (Clic here for more details about this article) |
| | Next -> |