Management of tuberculosis.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C del Rio.
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BACKGROUND: Investigators have reported that patients infected with Pneumocystis carinii containing mutations in the DHPS (dihydropteroate synthase) gene have a worse outcome than those infected with P carinii containing wild-type DHPS. We investigated patients with HIV-1 infection and P carinii pneumonia to determine if DHPS mutations were associated with poor outcomes in these patients. METHODS: We compared presence of mutations at the DHPS locus with survival and response of patients to co-trimoxazole or other drugs. FINDINGS: For patients initially given co-trimoxazole, nine (14%) of 66 with DHPS mutant died, compared with nine (25%) of 36 with wild type (risk ratio50.55 [95% CI=0.24-1.25]; p=0.15). Ten (15%) of 66 patients with a DHPS mutant did not respond to treatment, compared with 13 (36%) of 36 patients with the wild type (0.42 [0.20-0.86]; p=0.02). For patients aged 40 years or older, four (14%) of 29 with the mutant and nine (56%) of 16 with the wild type died (0.25 [0.09-0.67]; p=0.005). INTERPRETATION: These results, by contrast with those of previous studies, suggest that patients with wild-type P carinii do not have a better outcome than patients with the mutant when given co-trimoxazole. Our results suggest that presence of a DHPS mutation should be only one of several criteria guiding the choice of initial drug treatment of P carinii pneumonia in patients with HIV-1 infection.
OBJECTIVES: Gonorrhea cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) declined in the early years of the HIV epidemic. We evaluated more recent trends in gonorrhea among MSM through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project. METHODS: Isolates and case information were collected from 29 US sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics. Gonococcal urethritis cases among MSM were compared with those among heterosexual men, and cases among MSM in 1995 to 1999 were compared with earlier MSM cases. RESULTS: Of 34,942 cases, the proportion represented by MSM increased from 4.5% in 1992 to 13.2% in 1999 (P < .001). Compared with heterosexuals, MSM were older, more often White, and more often had had gonorrhea previously, although fewer had had gonorrhea in the past year. MSM with gonorrhea in 1995 to 1999 were slightly older than those with gonorrhea in 1992 to 1994, and a higher proportion had had gonorrhea in the past year. CONCLUSIONS: MSM account for an increasing proportion of gonococcal urethritis cases in STD clinics. Given recent evidence that gonorrhea may facilitate HIV transmission, these trends demand increased attention to safe sexual behaviors and reducing STDs among MSM.
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Patients with active diarrhea caused by infection with Cryptosporidium parvum can potentially contaminate the environment, which could serve as a risk for transmission to other patients in a hospital setting. A retrospective cohort study was performed to quantify the risk of nosocomial roommate-to-roommate transmission of Cryptosporidium and to evaluate the need for isolation of Cryptosporidium-infected patients. Thirty-seven human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected roommates of 21 index patients with Cryptosporidium were identified between 1994 and 1996. Each exposed roommate (median CD4 cell count, 27cells/mm(3)) was matched to an HIV-infected, unexposed roommate with a similar CD4 cell count (median, 24 cells/mm(3)) who was present in the hospital during the same month but was not a roommate of a patient with Cryptosporidium infection. No patients with Cryptosporidium were identified among the 37 exposed roommates, and 1 case was identified among the 37 unexposed roommates. The risk ratio for chronic diarrhea was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-2.75) and for death was 1.04 (95% CI, 0.75-1.44). These results suggest that isolation of adult patients with Cryptosporidium diarrhea is not necessary to prevent roommate-to-roommate transmission of Cryptosporidium.
To determine factors associated with mutations in the Pneumocystis carinii dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) gene, a prospective study of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with confirmed P. carinii pneumonia was conducted in Atlanta, Seattle, and San Francisco. Clinical information was obtained from patient interview and chart abstraction. DHPS genotype was determined from DNA sequencing. Overall, 76 (68.5%) of 111 patients had a mutant DHPS genotype, including 22 (81.5%) of 27 patients from San Francisco. In multivariate analysis, sulfa or sulfone prophylaxis and study site were independent predictors of a mutant genotype. Fourteen (53.8%) of 26 patients who were newly diagnosed with HIV infection and had never taken prophylaxis had a mutant genotype. The significance of geographic location as a risk factor for mutant genotype and the high proportion of mutant genotypes among persons never prescribed prophylaxis, including those newly diagnosed with HIV infection, provide indirect evidence that these mutations are transmitted from person to person either directly or through a common environmental source.
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this review is to provide a differential diagnosis for a low anion gap. METHODS: We describe the anatomy of the anion gap. Also, we follow-up with a review of the English-language literature describing the causes of a low anion gap. During the past 15 years, the introduction and widespread clinical use of ion-selective electrode methodology for measuring serum electrolyte values has caused a major fall in the normal range of the anion gap from 12 mEq/L +/- 4 mEq/L to 6 mEq/L +/- 3 mEq/L; therefore, a new definition for a low anion gap is in order. RESULTS: Based on current clinical data, an anion gap value of < 3 mEq/L should be considered low. A low anion gap is a useful diagnostic tool, but its clinical significance is often unrecognized. Also, it may be a handy clinical clue for the diagnosis of life-threatening intoxications or occult neoplasms, such as multiple myeloma. The baseline low anion gap may mask the identification of a high gap metabolic acidosis in certain patients. CONCLUSIONS: Interpretation of a low anion gap can provide valuable clinical information.
Variability in CD4+ T-lymphocyte measurements has been described for both normal and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons. Clinical protocols use CD4+ cell counts as surrogate markers for disease progression or response. In this study, we determined the variability of CD4+ T-lymphocytes below 100 cells/microl when measured less than 7 days apart. Two consecutive lymphocyte subset measurements were performed in 55 patients using CD3/CD4 antibodies in a flow cytometer (Epics Profile II). Specimens were collected between 8:00 and 10:00 am within the same week. Data from the first and second measurements were compared. The average total lymphocyte count on the first measurement was 1,064 (360-2,853), and on the second 1,162 (320-2,223; P = 0.07); the percentage CD4 was 1.76 (0-8) on the first, and on the second 1.98 (0-9; P = 0.3); the absolute CD4 cell count on the first measurement was 16.6 (0-57) and on the second 22.8 (0-93; P = 0.01). Statistically significant differences were found between the first and second absolute CD4 T-lymphocytes but not in the CD4 percentage. These differences probably are due to variations in total lymphocyte count. For research protocols, repeating CD4+ cell determinations within a short period is advisable, to ensure a homogeneous population. On the other hand, for day-to-day patient follow-up, a combination of clinical criteria and both percentage and absolute CD4+ cell counts should be used to make treatment decisions, because repeating CD4 cell measurements can be very costly.
UNLABELLED: The clinical and functional outcome of ureteric division to the distal segment of a loop colostomy: the double-barrelled wet colostomy have been analysed. METHODS: 13 patients (8 female and 5 male, age 37 to 72 years) underwent pelvic exenteration with double-barrelled wet colostomy. The primary tumour included endometrial (n = 6), rectal (n = 1), anal (n = 1), cervical (n = 2), prostatic (n = 1) and bladder (n = 2). Indications for pelvic exenteration were locally advanced disease, recurrence and severe radiation or surgical damage. Six patients had pre-existing colostomy, and three had a Bricker ureteroileal diversion. The double-barrelled-wet colostomy technique consisted in anastomosing both ureters to a colon segment 25 cm distal to the loop colostomy. There was no operative mortality. Complications included one urinary leak which closed with conservative management and one case of recurrent episodes of pyelonephritis which finally required nephrectomy. Intravenous urography in the remaining patients showed good flow through the ureters to the conduit with no reflux. Postoperative plasma electrolytes, urea and creatinine were normal from day seven onwards. Urodynamic studies in four patients showed efficient contraction of the colon conduit with pressure levels similar to those in the colon proximal to the colostomy. In five cases biopsies of the conduit were taken at 3 and 16 months; no dysplasias were found. Four patients died due to disease progression. The overall mean survival was 41.2 months. The remainder are currently disease-free, maximum followup period being 19 months. Double-barrelled wet colostomy is a safe and simple technique with low morbidity. The patient needs to carry only one stoma and functional results are good.
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The effects of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) as well as the involvement of opioid system were evaluated in rectal distension (RD)-induced colonic motor inhibition in rats. Rats were surgically prepared with electrodes implanted on the proximal colon, and a catheter was implanted in lateral ventricle of the brain. RD was performed by inflation (0.0-1.6 ml) of a balloon rectally inserted. RD 1.6 ml of induced an inhibition of the colonic spike bursts (3.1 +/- 0.5 per 5 min vs. 8.1 +/- 0.4 before RD). Intracerebroventricular but not intravenous injection of CCK-8 and A-71623 (50 and 100 ng/kg) reduced the RD-induced colonic motor inhibition, whereas A-63387 was ineffective. PD-135,158 (10 micrograms/kg icv) suppressed the inhibitory reflex caused by RD. Devazepide (100 micrograms/kg icv) had no effect in this reflex function. Devazepide (1 microgram/kg), naloxone (0.1 mg/kg), and nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI; 10 mg/kg) reversed the blocking effect of CCK-8, whereas PD-135,158 (0.1 microgram/kg) and naltrindole (1 mg/kg) have no effect. In conclusion, CCK-8 acts on central alimentary cholecystokinin receptors to modulate the RD-induced inhibition of colonic motility through pathways involving activation of endogenous kappa-receptors.