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Biomedical subjects

B Petrini

Publications and source records attributed to B Petrini.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Infection with Mycobacterium malmoense in Sweden: report of 221 cases.

Mycobacterium malmoense was first described in 1977 and today is second only to the Mycobacterium avium complex as a cause of atypical mycobacterial infection in Sweden. We retrospectively studied the records of 221 patients from whom M. malmoense was isolated during 1968-1989. M. malmoense was recovered from the respiratory tract of 171 patients (170 adults and one child) and from cervical lymph nodes of 36 patients (35 children and one adult). In addition, the organism was isolated from the urine of six patients, one of whom had disseminated disease and two of whom had abscesses caused by M. malmoense. A majority of the patients with pulmonary infection as well as the patient with disseminated disease had other underlying diseases.

Adult↗

Detection of Candida albicans DNA in serum by polymerase chain reaction.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied in order to improve the diagnosis of disseminated candidosis. A nested PCR technique with 2 primer pairs was used to increase the sensitivity. We were able to detect Candida DNA in serum and tissue samples from experimentally infected mice as well as in serum samples from candidemia patients and patients with deep-seated Candida infection. Our PCR could detect as little as 1 pg Candida albicans DNA. The PCR method was more sensitive than culture in both the mouse experiments and the patients with deep candidosis (5/7 were PCR positive and 0/7 blood culture positive), and of similar sensitivity in candidemia patients (11/17 were 15/17 blood culture positive). The relatively short processing time of PCR, when compared with culturing, its sensitivity, as well as the possibility of using serum samples for analysis, all helped improve the diagnostics in deep-seated candidosis and candidemia.

Adult↗

Mycobacterium avium complex develop resistance to synergistically active drug combinations during infection.

Isolates of Mycobacterium avium complex from five patients on longterm (3-5 yrs) anti-mycobacterial drug treatment were collected during the early and late phase of disease, and studied in vitro for their susceptibility to anti-mycobacterial drugs and drug-combinations. All isolates were resistant or moderately resistant to ethambutol, rifampicin and streptomycin when given singly; however, all strains isolated early in the disease were susceptible to the combination of ethambutol with either rifampicin or streptomycin. All late isolates had developed resistance to one or both of these combinations. Three of the patients died within a year after the last isolation of M. avium complex, and the two remaining patients still have severe chronic disease. It is concluded that the susceptibility of M. avium strains to combinations of drugs should be monitored during the course of treatment, in order to guide the selection of effective drug-combinations throughout the infection.

Aged↗

Changes of gamma/delta T cells in blood after radiation therapy for prostatic cancer.

The changes of the size of gamma/delta T (gamma delta T) and alpha/beta T (alpha beta T) cell subsets in the blood were examined after radiation therapy (66 Gy) for prostatic carcinoma in 17 men. Following radiation both subpopulations of T cells were reduced to 52% and 36% of starting values, respectively. gamma delta T cells were not replaced four months after radiation therapy, in contrast to alpha beta T cells, which were increased to 47% of initial values. The T alpha beta/T gamma delta ratio was significantly reduced immediately after radiation therapy but was normalised after four months. Blood gamma delta T cells may be reduced for a long time after radiation therapy and this may be true also for gamma delta T cells in irradiated epithelial organs and tumours.

Aged↗

Efficacy of triple drug regimen of amikacin, ethambutol and rifabutin in AIDS patients with symptomatic Mycobacterium avium complex infection.

Treatment with ethambutol 15 mg/kg, rifabutin 6 mg/kg and amikacin 15 mg/kg (IV for 2-4 weeks) in 31 HIV infected patients with severe immunodeficiency and infection caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was evaluated in a retrospective study. The patients had one or more of the following clinical features: fever 31, weight loss 13, cough 10, pleurisy I, pericarditis 2, diarrhoea 12, peritonitis I. MAC was cultured from blood in 29, bone marrow in six, sputum in nine, faeces in 15, bowel biopsy in six and liver biopsy in four patients. Twenty-two of the 31 patients showed treatment response after a median time of 14 days, and five had a relapse successfully treated with another course of amikacin. Median survival time was 8 months.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Disseminated Mycobacterium malmoense infection in a patient with chronic granulocytic leukaemia.

Mycobacterium malmoense is an atypical mycobacterium previously isolated from lymph nodes in children and from adults with pulmonary disease. Disseminated infection is extremely rare and bone marrow involvement has never previously been described. We report a patient with chronic granulocytic leukaemia and persistent fever with granuloma in the bone marrow due to disseminated M. malmoense infection. The patient initially received treatment with isoniazid, ethambutol and rifampicin with clearance of mycobacteria in the bone marrow and clinical improvement. Sensitivity in vitro was established for streptomycin, amikacin, ethambutol and rifabutin. The patient eventually expired as a result of progressive respiratory failure from other opportunistic infections. At autopsy staining of samples from lung parenchyma revealed fungal hyphi but staining for Pneumocystis carinii and myobacteria were negative.

Adult↗

Treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections in patients without AIDS.

This report summarizes the results of an 8-year study of the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections and the long-term efficacy of this treatment in patients without AIDS. Of 25 patients, aged 10-82 years, 24 had pulmonary involvement; in 5 cases as part of disseminated disease. One patient had a renal infection only. Predisposing factors were identified in 16 patients. M. avium-intracellulare and M. malmoense were isolated in 17 and 7 patients, respectively, and M. kansasii in 1 patient. Three patients were subjected to lobectomy and 22 received multiple drug chemotherapy for 18-60 months. Chemotherapy was initially effective in 17/22 patients and surgery in 3/3. However, in the end 10 patients died of their mycobacterial infection, and 6 are still suffering from chronic infection. Only 7 patients appear to be free of disease more than 2 years after completing chemotherapy.

Adolescent↗

[Urogenital tuberculosis still a disease of current interest].

Of 980 cases of tuberculosis diagnosed in Stockholm County during the 9.5 year period, 1982 to June 1991, 66 were cases of genito-urinary tuberculosis. Of the 37 males, about 50 per cent were younger immigrants, while most of the 29 females were elderly Swedish women. Urine was the predominant source of positive test material. Although genito-urinary tuberculosis is unusual in Sweden, it is an entity that should be borne in mind when assessing genito-urinary tract symptoms, particularly in immigrants, the elderly, and people with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Adult↗