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Biomedical subjects

A Gershon

Publications and source records attributed to A Gershon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

A new cervical spine clearance protocol using computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess a cervical spine clearance protocol for blunt trauma patients using helical computed tomographic (CT) scan of the cervical spine (C-spine). METHODS: A protocol using CT scan of the C-spine was implemented and the first 6 months of use reviewed. Patients requiring a CT scan of the head had the C-spine evaluated by lateral C-spine radiography and a helical CT scan. Patients without indication for CT scan of the head had the C-spine evaluated by three-view radiography (anteroposterior, lateral, and odontoid) with selective CT scan of the C-spine for imaging areas not well visualized or those with abnormalities identified by radiography or by clinical examination alone. RESULTS: Three hundred twenty-four patients were admitted to the trauma center after blunt trauma during the first 6 months of protocol implementation. Head CT scans were obtained in 158 patients and lateral cervical spine radiography in conjunction with helical CT scanning evaluated the C-spine. The other 166 patients had the cervical spine cleared by three-view radiography series or by clinical examination alone. For patients in whom a head CT scan was not indicated, CT scanning was used only when plain radiographs failed to adequately visualize the entire C-spine. A total of 15 injuries (4.6% of the group) were detected. Seven injuries were suspected or detected by lateral plain radiographs and confirmed by CT scan. Six patients had an injury not detected by radiography but diagnosed by CT scan, and one patient had a false-positive radiograph. Of the remaining two injuries, one was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging and the other by CT scan outside of the protocol. Lateral plain radiographs alone failed to detect 46% (n = 6) of all injuries. CONCLUSION: In our series, the selective use of helical CT scanning with plain radiography increased the accuracy with which cervical spine injury was detected from 54% to 100%. The protocol allowed for more rapid evaluation in many patients as well. We recommend that practice guidelines include the use of helical CT scan of the entire C-spine as the diagnostic procedure for those blunt trauma patients undergoing CT scanning of the head.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The mother-child dyad facing trauma: a developmental outlook.

The effects of trauma in children are amply documented. This paper investigated the relationship between children's age and posttraumatic clusters of symptoms 30 months after the end of the Gulf War and the mother's reaction to the trauma 6 and 30 months after the war. Fifty-one children aged 6 to 8 years (3 to 5 years during the war) and their mothers were interviewed. Results showed no age differences in the various posttraumatic symptoms of the children. Correlations between the children's posttraumatic symptoms and both the general and the specific posttraumatic symptoms of their mothers were positive and significant in the 6-year-olds, positive and nonsignificant in the 7-year-olds, and nonsignificant and mostly negative in the 8-year-olds. These findings may reflect the developmental changes that render the older child more autonomous and the younger child rigidly attached to the mother after a traumatic event.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Safety and immunogenicity of HIV recombinant envelope vaccines in HIV-infected infants and children. National Institutes of Health-sponsored Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG-218).

Study objectives were to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of three HIV recombinant glycoproteins in HIV-infected infants and children between 1 month and 18 years of age with asymptomatic (P-1) infection. Using Chiron rgp 120 (SF-2) 15 or 50 microg; MicroGeneSys rgp 160 (IIIB) 40 or 320 microg; Genentech rgp120 (MN) 75 or 300 microg; or adjuvant control (Alum or MF-59), children were randomized to a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating study of vaccine administered intramuscularly at entry and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 months later. No adverse events were attributed to study vaccines. Between 30% and 56% of volunteers exhibited a lymphoproliferative response as defined in terms of stimulation index (SI) to vaccine antigens; 65% of vaccinees but none of placebo recipients exhibited moderate or strong responses after enzyme immunoassay to HIV specific antigens. CD4 cell counts and quantitative HIV culture did not differ significantly among vaccine and control groups, nor were differences found among groups in HIV disease progression. The rgp160 and gp120 subunit vaccines were safe and immunogenic in this population.

AIDS Vaccines↗
PubMed1998

Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of varicella-zoster virus isolates from the United States and other parts of the world.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that identifies and differentiates wild-type (wt) and vaccine strains of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) was used to determine if VZV strains with restriction fragment length polymorphisms resembling those of the Japanese Oka vaccine strain were present in the wt pool outside of Japan. Virus samples (n = 114) from patients with chickenpox and zoster from various parts of the United States and Australia were analyzed. The assay correctly identified 113 samples as wt strain. The 1 sample identified as Oka vaccine strain came from a child with leukemia who developed a vaccine-associated rash after receiving the live attenuated varicella vaccine. At this point, there is no evidence that wt strains resembling the vaccine are circulating outside of Japan. This indicates that this PCR assay can be utilized to distinguish rashes due to vaccine and wt VZV.

Australia↗
PubMed1997

Zidovudine, didanosine, or both as the initial treatment for symptomatic HIV-infected children. AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) Study 152 Team.

BACKGROUND: Zidovudine has been the drug of choice for the initial treatment of symptomatic children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This trial was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of treatment with zidovudine alone as compared with either didanosine alone or combination therapy with zidovudine plus didanosine. METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blind study, symptomatic HIV-infected children 3 months through 18 years of age were stratified according to age (<30 months or > or =30 months) and randomly assigned to receive zidovudine, didanosine, or zidovudine plus didanosine. The primary end point was length of time to death or to progression of HIV disease. RESULTS: Of the 831 children who could be evaluated, 92 percent had never received antiretroviral therapy and 90 percent had acquired HIV perinatally. An interim analysis (median follow-up, 23 months) showed a significantly higher risk of HIV-disease progression or death in patients receiving zidovudine alone than in those receiving combination therapy (relative risk, 0.61; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.42 to 0.88; P=0.007). The study arm with zidovudine alone was stopped and unblinded; the other two treatment arms were continued. At the end of the study, didanosine alone had an efficacy similar to that of zidovudine plus didanosine (median follow-up, 32 months) (relative risk of disease progression or death, 0.98; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.70 to 1.37; P=0.91). A significantly lower risk of anemia or neutropenia was seen in patients receiving didanosine alone (P=0.036). CONCLUSIONS: In symptomatic HIV-infected children, treatment with either didanosine alone or zidovudine plus didanosine was more effective than treatment with zidovudine alone. The efficacy of didanosine alone was similar to that of the combination therapy and was associated with less hematologic toxicity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Transmission of vaccine strain varicella-zoster virus from a healthy adult with vaccine-associated rash to susceptible household contacts.

Twelve days after receiving an investigational Oka strain live attenuated varicella vaccine, a 38-year-old healthy white woman developed a rash consisting of 30 scattered lesions. Sixteen days later, her 2 children also developed rash. Swabs obtained from the skin lesions of the vaccinee and her children demonstrated the presence of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) DNA by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Restriction endonuclease polymorphisms present in wild and vaccine type VZV were examined, and the amplified VZV DNA was determined to be vaccine type. This case documents transmission of varicella vaccine type virus from a healthy vaccinee to susceptible household contacts. Since vaccine-associated rashes are uncommon and mild, it is likely that transmission of vaccine virus will also be uncommon. With widespread immunization beginning in the United States, ongoing studies will define the frequency of this transmission.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Israeli preschool children under Scuds: a 30-month follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: Longitudinal studies of children exposed to traumatic events show contrasting findings regarding their symptomatic change over time. The present study reports on a 30-month follow-up of preschool children and their mothers who had been exposed to Scud missile attacks. METHOD: Families displaced during the Gulf War after their homes had been damaged by the missile attack and a control group whose homes remained intact were interviewed about posttraumatic and general symptomatology, the mothers' capacity to control images, and the children's adaptive behavior. RESULTS: Stress symptoms decreased in the displaced children but not in their mothers. Both reported more posttraumatic symptoms than did the control group. No differences in the children's adaptive behavior were observed. Posttraumatic symptoms of the displaced children correlated with the mothers' avoidant symptoms. The mothers' avoidant symptoms at follow-up were statistically explained by the mothers' symptoms during the war and their capacity for image control, the duration of displacement, and the cohesion of the family. CONCLUSIONS: The maternal stress-buffering capacity constitutes a central element in children's protective matrix and is crucial in minimizing long-term internal suffering of traumatized preschool children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

In situ hybridization detection of varicella zoster virus in paraffin-embedded skin biopsy samples.

BACKGROUND: When virologic and molecular diagnostic techniques are unavailable, the diagnosis of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection depends on clinical criteria and histologic evaluation of skin biopsy specimens or Tzank preparations. These methods can misdiagnose chickenpox and zoster, particularly when the clinical manifestations are atypical. OBJECTIVE: To improve diagnosis in these settings, we developed an in situ hybridization technique for the detection of VZV utilizing a fluorescein-labeled oligonucleotide probe visualized with anti-fluorescein alkaline phosphatase-conjugated antibody. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively examined 26 paraffin-embedded skin biopsy specimens with histologic features consistent with VZV or herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and 11 control cases by in situ hybridization. In situ hybridization for VZV and HSV-1 was compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for VZV and HSV-1 and clinical and histologic examination. RESULTS: Thirteen of the 26 study cases and two of the 11 control cases were positive for VZV by in situ hybridization. When compared with PCR, in situ hybridization was 92% sensitive and 88% specific. When compared with clinical diagnosis, in situ hybridization was 86% sensitive and 87% specific. All cases of chickenpox had VZV-positive inflammatory cells in the dermis but this finding was less frequent among the cases of zoster. CONCLUSIONS: This in situ hybridization technique is a sensitive and specific method for the diagnosis of VZV in skin lesions that is applicable to most histopathology laboratory settings. In addition, in situ hybridization reveals individual infected cells and may provide insight into the pathogenesis of VZV skin infection.

Chickenpox↗
PubMed1996

Papillary thyroid carcinoma metastasizing to the sphenoid-ethmoid sinuses and skull base.

Metastatic papillary carcinoma to the sinuses and skull base is a rare occurrence. A case report of aggressive papillary carcinoma is reported. The tumor contained areas of insular and anaplastic degeneration with strong positive staining for p53 oncogene. Management included primary surgery, administration of radioactive iodine, and external beam radiation.

Carcinoma, Papillary↗
PubMed1995

Reactivated and latent varicella-zoster virus in human dorsal root ganglia.

Ganglia obtained at autopsy were examined by in situ hybridization from one patient with zoster (also called herpes zoster or shingles), two varicella-zoster virus (VZV)-seropositive patients with clinical evidence of zoster, one VZV-seronegative child, and one fetus. Ganglia positive for VZV had a hybridization signal in both neuronal and nonneuronal satellite cells. Ganglia obtained from the fetus and from the seronegative infant were consistently negative for VZV. Two striking observations were evident regarding the presence of VZV DNA in ganglia obtained from the individual with zoster at the time of death. First, ganglia innervating the sites of reactivation and ganglia innervating adjacent sites yielded strongly positive signals in neurons and satellite cells, whereas ganglia from distant sites were rarely positive. Second, VZV DNA was found in both the nuclei and the cytoplasm of neurons innervating areas of zoster. However, in neurons innervating zoster-free areas, VZV DNA was found only in the nucleus of neurons and their supporting satellite cells. Immunohistochemistry with a fluorescent monoclonal antibody to the VZV glycoprotein gpI, a late virus protein, revealed a positive signal in the cytoplasm of ganglia with clinical evidence of reactivation. These results illustrate that both neuronal and satellite cells become latently infected following primary VZV infection. The presence of VZV DNA and gpI in the cytoplasm of neurons demonstrates productive infection following reactivation at the site of latency.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1994

Transmission of varicella-zoster virus from a vaccinee with leukemia, demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction.

A 5-year-old white boy in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukemia who was receiving maintenance anticancer chemotherapy had approximately 200 vesicular skin lesions 1 month after receiving live attenuated varicella vaccine. About 2 to 3 weeks later, a mild illness resembling varicella occurred in his susceptible siblings and in three of his classmates. Vaccine-type varicella-zoster virus was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction in swab specimens from vesicular lesions in his two siblings, in whom antibody to varicella-zoster virus also developed.

Chickenpox↗