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A Díaz

Publications and source records attributed to A Díaz.

140 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

[A naturalistic study: 100 consecutive episodes of acute agitation in a psychiatric emergency department].

INTRODUCTION: Psychomotor agitation is a common event in psychiatric emergency services (PES) with a prevalence of approximately 10 %. There is no general consensus on to how to manage psychomotor agitation; benzodiazepines, typical antipsychotics and now atypical antipsychotics have demonstrated similar efficacy. The aim of our study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical management of agitation in "real-life" in a psychiatric emergency service. METHODS: A naturalistic study was performed in acutely agitated patients recruited consecutively in a psychiatric emergency service. Demographics, clinical and therapeutic characteristics were analyzed. Efficacy was assessed by the Excitement Component of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-EC) and the Agitation-Calmness Evaluation Scale (ACES). Pragmatic variables such as the need for second pharmacological intervention and the need for physical restraints were assessed. RESULTS: The study included 100 patients with psychomotor agitation. Mean age was 36.2 % and 54% were women. The most prevalent diagnoses were psychotic disorder (48 %) and personality disorder (24 %). Physical restraint was required in 39 % of patients and 52 % accepted oral treatment. Haloperidol was the most frequent oral treatment and olanzapine was the most frequent intramuscular treatment. CONCLUSIONS: A naturalistic approach provides data based on clinical reality in psychiatric emergency services. Strict research designs of clinical trials of efficacy imply sample selection biases and are generally distanced from the clinical reality. Atypical antipsychotics have become the first-line treatment in acute agitation

Adult↗

[Etiology of lower respiratory infections in hospitalized infants].

As a contribution to knowledge about the etiology of lower respiratory tract infections (LRI) in infants, 235 patients aged one year or less admitted to a children's hospital at northern metropolitan area of Santiago, Chile along years 1987 throughout 1989 with radiologically confirmed diagnosis were studied. Infants were eligible only if their symptoms lasted for not more than five days and their hospital stay was less than two days. Controls consisted on 74 healthy infants. A search for presumptive etiology was done by means of usual bacteriological procedures (pharyngeal swabs and blood cultures), plus latex test for type b Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) in concentrated urine specimens; indirect immunofluorescence (IF) for specific Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) IgM; serological tests, isolation and IF in pharyngeal aspirates for syncytial respiratory virus (SRV), influenza, parainfluenzae and adenoviruses were also used. Evidence of viral infection was detected from 135/235 (57.5%) of cases and 21/74 (28.3%) controls, SRV being the most common. From 18/119 and 2/119 studied patients Hib and SP antigens were respectively detected, but urinary antigens were also present in 6/24 controls, raising questions about this test's specificity. IF titers of 1:32 or higher for CT were found in 5/80 patients, all younger than 5 months. It was possible to perform the whole set of available methods in 80 patients, in 70% of which some evidence of a known etiologic agent was found. Serology alone gave etiological clues in only 30% of these cases and usual microbiological cultures of throat swabs and blood from none of them. No combinations of age, fever, respiratory rate, apnea, bronchial obstructive syndrome, white blood cell counts over 15,000 or of band forms over 500 per cu mm, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, reactive C protein and x-ray findings allowed differential diagnosis between presumptive bacterial or viral etiology, except in one case of an infant presenting with pleural effusion and positive antigenuria for Hib.

Bronchopneumonia↗

[Etiology of lower acute respiratory infections in hospitalized infants. 3. Investigation of Chlamydia trachomatis].

Five infants with Chlamydia trachomatis associated pneumonia are analyzed. They were diagnosed out of 80 infants admitted to the hospital with pneumonia whose etiology was studied for virus, bacteria and Chlamydia trachomatis. Serum IgM antibodies to Chlamydia tr. were measured by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF), which is considered to be specific in high titers (1 greater than or equal to 32). The five cases represented 10.4% of infants studied younger than six months. One child was born by cesarean section suggesting the possibility of other non oculogenital still undefined mechanism of transmission. Clinical symptoms and laboratory findings were characteristics of those described in Chlamydia tr. pneumonia. Chlamydia trachomatis must be considered an etiologic agent in infantile pneumonia specially in the first six months of life. The high specificity and sensitivity of the IFF makes this serologic test the best non-invasive method for diagnosis of Chlamydia tr. pneumonia currently available.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

Treatment of recurrent common warts with one low dose of intralesional natural human leukocyte interferon alpha.

Nine patients with recurrent and long lasting common warts were treated with intralesional Hu-IFN-alpha. The schedule was a single dose per wart, ranged between 10(5) and 2 x 10(5) IU. Placebo was also administered in 3 of these patients. Complete remission was observed in 7 of the 9 patients. The pattern of warts involution and the possible interferon mechanism of action are discussed. A significant pain relief, produced by interferon injection was observed in the patients with plantar warts and in one patient with subungueal wart.

Adolescent↗

[Etiology of acute infections of the lower respiratory tract in hospitalized infants: bacterial antigens].

Demonstration of bacterial antigens in biological fluids has been used for early detection of bacterial infections. Recent evidence suggests that higher detection rates of these antigens can be obtained from concentrated urine than from serum samples of patients. Evidence of bacterial infection by antigen detection was looked for from 50 fold concentrated urine samples by means of an ultrafilter system (Minicom) and latex agglutination for Haemophilus influenzae B (HiB) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) in three groups of patients. Group A (Positive controls), included 7 patients whose blood culture were positive for HiB (n = 5) and Sp (n = 2). Group B (Healthy controls) involved 16 children without clinical and laboratory signs of infection, coming from ambulatory well baby clinics and surgical wards, and group C was formed by 77 patients with negative blood cultures but with clinical and X ray evidence of lower respiratory tract infection. The corresponding antigen was demonstrated in urine samples from all group A patients. Three group B subjects gave positive results for HiB antigen. HiB antigen was detected from 10 and Sp antigen from 2 group C patients. These results suggest that the search for bacterial antigens in urine would be useful for etiological diagnosis and management of patients with bacterial pneumoniae. There is no definite explanation for the finding of HiB antigen in urine from apparently healthy children but the possibility of previous or actual asymptomatic infections must be taken into account.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

[Systolic stress in mitral stenosis].

Left ventricular systolic stress was studied in nineteen patients with mitral stenosis, twelve in sinus rhythm and seven in atrial fibrillation. Left ventricular dimensions and volumes and septal and posterior wall thickness were measured by means of M and two bidimensional echocardiography at rest and during isometric exercise. Expulsive indices: fractional shortening, ejection fraction and mean circumferential shortening rate were calculated. Ventricular mass, meridional stress and several end-systolic stress or pressure/volume relationships were estimated. Patients with atrial fibrillation were older and had systolic dysfunction: greater end-systolic volumes and depression of both expulsive fractions and some of the end-systolic indices. Preload and wall thickness were normal. Patients with atrial fibrillation showed higher ventricular stress as a consequence of greater ventricular dimensions. Ejection fraction correlates directly with mitral valve area and inversely with inotropic state and heart rate. It is concluded that systolic dysfunction in mitral stenosis is multifactorial. The most important determinants of the abnormality are heart rate and inotropic state. The study did not show any primary abnormality of afterload or hypotrophy of the left ventricle.

Adult↗

[Recurrent obstructive bronchitis in infants].

The study comprised 458 infants complaining of recurrent obstructive bronchitis from the clinical, chest X-rays and gastroesophageal reflux investigation view points. Spontaneous radiological reflux was found in 49.1% of the patients, although a history of vomiting was present only in 26.6%. In infants with positive radiological reflux, manometrics showed a shorter gastroesophageal sphincter and with lesser pressures than a group of normal infants. With medical treatment of the reflux, remission of the respiratory symptoms was seen in 63.5% of the patients. In a group of infants treated, control X-rays, and manometrics were practiced at the end of the medical treatment showing significant improvement of pressure and length of the gastroesophageal sphincter. The long-term follow-up in infants showing failure of the medical treatment, bronchial asthma appeared in 56.6%.

Bronchitis↗

[Bronchiolitis].

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Age Factors↗

[Effect of adenosine on glycolysis of cultured cardiac myocytes of newborn rats].

Adenosine is a hormonal modulator of metabolic processes. In some tissues the effect of adenosine on glycolysis is well established. Nevertheless, there are controversial data in heart. We believe that these discrepancies in the literature are due to haemodynamic factors which are not unified in those reports. We studied the direct effect of adenosine in cardiac myocytes in culture, isolated from neonatal rat heart, which are not influenced by haemodynamics forces as whole heart. Myocytes were isolated using conventional methods. Glycolysis was measured following the formation of tritium water from D-[3-3H]glucose. The results obtained showed that the nonmetabolizable adenosine analogue, N6-(L-2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine, (10 microM) stimulates basal glycolysis (49.86%). This effect was observed in the absence or presence of (5 mM) glucose. In separated group of experiments we examined different concentrations of N6-(L-2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine, (1, 10 and 100 microM, glucose 5 mM). Concentrations of 1 y 10 microM of the adenosine analogue stimulated glycolysis in a concentration-dependent fashion, however 100 microM of N6-(L-2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine inhibited glycolysis by 83% possibly through a toxic effect on the myocardial cells. The natural agonist adenosine, (100 microM) also stimulated glycolysis but with less potency. Stimulation of glycolysis by insulin (1 microM) or isoproterenol (1 microM) was potentiated by N6-(L-2-phenylisopropyl)adenosine. We concluded that adenosine stimulates basal or stimulated glycolysis in the myocardial isolated cells. It could be of benefit for the energetic economy in situations were the nucleoside is released.

Adenosine↗