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A Chinchilla

Publications and source records attributed to A Chinchilla.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[The role of the clinical microbiology laboratory during the outbreak of Legionella spp. in the municipality of Alcoy: the effectiveness of the different diagnosis methods].

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of the different laboratory test methods to diagnose Legionella spp. in clinical specimens varies according to the epidemiological context. In this study, the usefulness of the laboratory methods used for an outbreak that occurred in the municipality of Alcoy (Alicante, Spain) are evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 222 community-acquired cases of infection caused by Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, subtype Pontiac-Knoxville, genotypes I and II were studied, that had been diagnosed by the Microbiology laboratory from January 1999 to December 2000, corresponding to patients residing in the municipality of Alcoy (Alicante). The methods used were direct antigen detection in respiratory specimens by immunoflurescence, direct antigen detection in urine, cultures and serology. RESULTS: The detection of the antigen in urine diagnosed 201 cases (90,5%). Direct immunofluorescence provided a high number of false positives (n=24). A culture was essential to confirm the etiology of the outbreak (25 sputum) strains from 22 patients). Serology complemented the other methods and helped to retrospectively diagnose 21 patients (9%) when the other tests were not carried out or when they provided negative results. CONCLUSIONS: A rapid diagnosis is essential to evaluate the patients and to control epidemical outbreaks, and the detection of the urinary antigen is very useful, but should be complemented with other methods. The culture of the respiratory specimens and the subsequent typing of the strains means that the etiology can be established with certainty and this helps to determine the source(s) of the infection. Serology complemented the diagnosis in 9% of the cases.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1987

Why do some psychiatric patients somatize?

A study was made of a series of 139 outpatients referred by the medical and surgical services of a general hospital for evaluation by the psychiatry unit. In accordance with established criteria, this population was divided into somatizers (56) and non-somatizers (75), and the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of both groups were comparatively analyzed. The results show that the group of somatizers was younger, had more histrionic personality traits and more stress factors related with alterations in interpersonal relationships or death or disease of relatives. It is emphasized that somatization is poorly known by psychiatrists--whose diagnostic criteria practically omit these aspects--and by other physicians, in spite of its importance and frequency.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Body dysmorphic disorder and aesthetic surgery: case report.

The appearance of psychiatric disorders among plastic surgery patients is well-known, and its frequency is higher than in other surgical branches. There is evidence that these patients may suffer from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental disorder characterized by excessive concern about some imaginary or slight physical defect, causing significant clinical discomfort, social deterioration, and losses in other important areas of the individuals' activity. We present a typical case of BDD and discuss diagnostic criteria and the proper attitude the plastic surgeon should adopt toward this kind of patient.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Primary polydipsia and eating disorders: three case reports].

We present three patients with eating disorders and primary polydipsia with different severity and clinical relevance. This association is underestimated in common clinical practice, either due to hidden symptoms or lie over the real hydric intake, or due to lack of nosology location as a differentiated entity in nowadays nosologies, or by ignorance of the clinical features it can generate. These and other similar cases published in the literature indicate the real need to make a medical history focussed on hydric intake as part of the whole medical and psychiatric story and be alert if previous positive hyponatremia is recorder. Finally we propose five recommendations for the management and praecox diagnosis in order to avoid severe clinical consequences.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[ICD-9 versus DSM-III in the psychoses: anamnestic and catamnestic implications].

We pretend with our study to compare the DSM-III diagnostic criteria with ICD-9 diagnostic criteria for psychotic episodes and to look for the diagnostic stability for both classifications. We studied 79 first psychotic episodes following ICD-9 and retrospectively we applied the DSM-III diagnostic criteria to the same patients. The mean follow up time was 46.6 +/- 6.7 months. In the ICD-9 the schizophrenic psychoses represented the main diagnostic group, not only the day they were discharged from the hospital 31.6% but also in the follow up 39.2%. On the other hand in the DSM-III, in the discharge day the schizophreniform disorder was the more frequent diagnostic 24%, while in the follow up the schizophrenic disorder came to the first position 32.9%. In the ICD-9 there was a 15.1% of diagnostic changes and in the DSM-III nearly the double 30.3%. In both classifications the unspecified and the atypical suffered a great diagnostic mobility; in both nosologies the schizophrenia was the most unchangeable diagnosis, no patient discharged with this diagnosis changed to another in the follow up. ICD-9 could be said that has a great sensitivity and an acceptable specificity for this entities, and DSM-III would have a moderate sensitivity but a very diagnostic specificity for these disorders.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Refractory depression: therapeutic alternatives].

A group of 89 patients admitted to the Psychiatric Unit of a General Hospital, with diagnosis of depression according to ICD-9 criteria and randomly chosen were studied. 26 of them (29.2%) were resistant depressions and 63 (7.82%) responded to treatment. Both groups were composed retrospectively in order to analyse resistance or lack of response to a first treatment with tricyclic or tetracyclic antidepressants in effective dosages. We considered: the personality type; the associated somatic pathology; prolonged social stress; period of evolution of the disorder; previous treatments; type of disorder uni or bipolar; familial morbidity; diagnosis reconsideration; analysis of therapeutic compliance; side effects and intolerance. We observed a statistically significant difference with regard to prophylactic treatment (38.4% resistant versus 98.3% non-resistant, p less than 0.0001); a greater suspicion of psycho-organicity in the resistant group (p less than 0.05); a longer interval of time for the resistant group between the beginning of the disorder and the beginning of treatment in our service (F: 1.45, t: 2.58, p less than 0.01). The alternatives used with our patients are analysed and we propose schedules for tackling this kind of problem.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hysterical psychosis: clinical aspects and disease course].

30 patients admitted to our psychiatric service with the initial diagnosis of psychogenic psychosis, dissociative psychosis or hysterical pseudo-psychosis are studied anamnestically and in their catamnesis (average follow up 5.1 years). The objective of the study was to see if these disorders are independent nosologic entities or are masking other ones, such as affective, schizophrenic or neurotic disorders. In this study we found a greater percentage of women (3/1) with a previous hysterical personality in more than 50%; many of the patients were hospitalised in order to clarify the diagnosis; in 70% we found psychogenic triggers; a greater predominance of an abrupt onset of the disorder (which would favour the concept of reaction); 60% had fluctuating symptoms (not so common in endogenous psychosis). In almost 100% there was a complete remission during the hospitalization period (average 22.7 days), which would bring them closer to the present concept of brief reactive psychosis. With a follow up of an average of five years, the diagnosis is maintained in 93.3% of the cases. The majority of the patients fulfilled the criteria for hysterical psychosis as defined by Hollender and Hirsch. We think that these disorders are well delimited, both clinically and nosologically, not having received up until now an exact placing in modern classification systems (DSM-III, ICD-10, etc.).

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Personality and triggering life events in the affective psychoses].

60 bipolar patients and 30 patients with recurrent major depression, both fulfilling DSM-III criteria, were studied in terms of sociodemographic profile, personal and family antecedents, clinical psychopathology, personality type and triggers of the first episodes. We found a greater frequency in the bipolar group of personality disorders of the hypomanic, cyclothymic and sociopathic types; the melancholic-anancastic being more associated with unipolar depression. The bipolar patients in our study had a higher socioeconomical and cultural level compared with the unipolar patients. More than 50% of the depressive episodes of each group had unfavourable life event triggers; 45% of the manic episodes also had previous unfavourable life events; 44% of the patients of this later group, exhibited a previous hypomanic, sociopathic or cyclothymic personality.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Risperidone in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia: multicenter study comparative to haloperidol].

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of five different doses of risperidone with a fixed dose of haloperidol in patients with chronic schizophrenia. METHOD: After a 1-week single-blind, placebo washout phase, 99 chronic schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with 1, 4, 8, 12 or 16 mg risperidone or 10 mg haloperidol daily for 8 weeks. Efficacy was assessed throughout the study by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia, and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). Safety assessments included the Extrapyramidal Symptom Ratinf Scale (ESRS) UKU Side Effect Rating Scale, vital signs, body weight, ECG and laboratory screening. RESULTS: Risperidone had a bell-shaped dose-response curve, with optimal therapeutic responses occurring at a daily dose of 8 mg. The therapeutic response to haloperidol was similar to that seen with risperidone 16 mg. Risperidone was associated with significantly less extrapyramidal symptoms than haloperidol, as assessed by the ESRS. The effect was mirrored by the requirement for antiparkinson rescue medication. Furthermore, the overall incidence of adverse events was markedly lower with the optimum dose of risperidone than with haloperidol. CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone is at least as effective as haloperidol for the treatment of chronic schizophrenia. Moreover, risperidone is associated with an improved adverse event profile and significantly less extrapyramidal symptoms which will have beneficial implications on patient quality of life and compliance. These results are in agreement with the results from the international multicenter trial.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Treatment of dysthymia with sertraline].

We studied 50 patients (40 females, 10 males) diagnosed of dysthymia according to 1CD-10 criteria (F34.1), retrospectively and prospectively. All were treated with Sertraline, with an initial dose of Sertraline 50-100 mg/day, allowing increases to a maximum of 200 mg/day during the follow up. The clinical and therapeutical evolution was measured by HDRS (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) 21 items, HARS (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), subjective patient impression, compliance, secondary effects, complementary treatments when needed, severity, evolution evaluated on days 15, 30, 60 and 90, from the patient and psychiatrist perspective. Seventy two percent of the sample completed the three months of treatment. We obtained a good clinical efficacy with sertraline observed by a statistical significant decrease (p < 0.01) in the scales in the second week of treatment, which continued in following weeks. The mean doses varted from 78 mg/day to 98.7 mg/day during the three months of follow up The tolerance to Sertraline in our sample was good and similar to other data in the literature. Fourteen patients withdrew, but only six (12%) were due to secondary effects In spite of the study's limitations due to the lack of a control group, we could affirm that sertraline was an effective treatment for dysthymic patients and it should be recommended as a first choice in the treatment of affective disorders, facilitating other psychotherapeutical approach due to its favourable tolerance profile.

1-Naphthylamine↗