Biomedical subjects

D Drehner

Publications and source records attributed to D Drehner.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Real-time molecular epidemiologic analysis of an outbreak of Streptococcus pyogenes invasive disease in US Air Force trainees.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if molecular epidemiologic techniques, including comparative automated DNA sequencing of polymorphic virulence genes, could be used in the course of a bacterial disease outbreak to unambiguously determine clonal relationships among implicated strains. DESIGN: Strains recovered from all patients with invasive infections and a sample of carriers were analyzed by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and automated DNA sequencing of a gene encoding an extracellular protease and a highly polymorphic part of the streptokinase gene. SETTING: A US Air Force training facility in San Antonio, Tex. PATIENTS: A squadron with about 800 Air Force trainees, including three recruits with invasive Streptococcus pyogenes infections. RESULTS: Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and automated DNA sequencing of polymorphic virulence genes unambiguously defined person-to-person spread of an otherwise rare S pyogenes clone in the course of the disease outbreak and clarified strain relationships in real time. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular strain characterization techniques can be employed rapidly in a disease outbreak to definitively resolve complex relationships among pathogenic bacteria, infer patterns of clone spread, and help formulate rational public health control measures. The approach has broad applicability to other infectious agents.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Syndrome of Rochalimaea henselae adenitis suggesting cat scratch disease.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a clinical syndrome of cat scratch disease caused by Rochalimaea henselae, including methods for isolation of the organism from tissue and for identification. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: U.S. Air Force referral hospital infectious diseases clinic. PATIENTS: Two previously healthy patients. MAIN MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Two immunocompetent patients who had handled cats developed unilateral upper-extremity adenitis associated with a distal papular lesion and fever. The adenitis and distal lesions persisted and progressively worsened. Cultures of the involved lymph nodes from both patients grew R. henselae, a recently described organism associated with bacillary angiomatosis and peliosis hepatis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients and with bacteremia in immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. The organism was characterized as oxidase negative and X-factor dependent and had a characteristic pattern in analysis of whole-cell fatty acids differing from Afipia felis, a bacterium that has been associated with cat scratch disease. The identity of the isolate was confirmed by analysis of whole-cell fatty acids using gas chromatography and by amplification of the citrate synthetase gene sequence and analysis of the polymerase chain reaction-amplified product. The organisms were broadly susceptible to a variety of antimicrobials by broth microdilution; however in-vitro resistance to first-generation cephalosporins correlated with clinical failure of therapy. CONCLUSION: Rochalimaea henselae can be a cause of cat scratch disease in immunocompetent patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Psyllium worm.

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Anal Canal↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Rapidly progressive T cell lymphoma presenting as acute renal failure: case report and review of the literature.

We describe a case of peripheral T cell lymphoma that is remarkable for its fulminate course and selective targeting of both kidneys. The patient was a 6-year-old girl who was in her usual state of good health until the onset of abdominal pain and fever. She was treated for acute oliguric renal failure and visual disturbances. A renal biopsy was performed. Biopsy findings were interpreted as suggestive of a vasculitic process, and treatment was initiated for a presumptive diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis. The patient died 3 days following admission, and autopsy revealed extensive bilateral kidney infiltration by a peripheral T cell lymphoma. The remainder of the body was spared with the exception of mild infiltration of the pulmonary parenchyma and choroid plexus by neoplastic lymphocytes. The neoplastic nature of the disease was confirmed utilizing immunoperoxidase stains and T cell receptor gene rearrangement. Primary renal lymphoma and renal failure attributable to involvement by lymphoma are rare findings that should be considered when other more common causes of renal insufficiency have been excluded. The presenting clinical complaints are generally of short duration, nonspecific, and atypical. Most patients exhibit oliguria. Physical examination may reveal hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, and flank and/or abdominal mass(es). Laboratory findings frequently include an elevated serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, lactate dehydrogenase, and a mild proteinuria. Electrolyte abnormalities are variably present. Possible radiographic findings include hypodense or hypoechoic renal lesions and diffuse bilateral renal enlargement. Although the prognosis is dismal, survival may be prolonged utilizing current treatment modalities, and rare patients may be "cured" of disease. The clinical presentation, radiological findings, and prognosis of patients with clinically evident renal involvement by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are discussed.

Acute Kidney Injury↗