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Biomedical subjects

D H Connor

Publications and source records attributed to D H Connor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Amebiasis complicating carcinomas: a diagnostic dilemma.

Two black African women and one black American man had carcinomas of cervix, perineum, and sigmoid colon, respectively. In each of these patients, trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica had invaded the surface of the tumor, and in some areas had invaded more deeply into the stroma between the tumor cells. Although it is well known that cutaneous amebiasis of anus, penis, vulva, and cervix can mimic squamous cell carcinoma, it may be, perhaps, less well known that carcinomas at these sites may be colonized by trophozoites of E. histolytica. In patients with amebiasis but without an associated carcinoma, a correct diagnosis of amebiasis spares the patient unnecessary and sometimes mutilating surgery. But a diagnosis of amebiasis, when there is an unrecognized underlying carcinoma, delays effective treatment of the carcinoma. A smear that establishes a diagnosis of cutaneous amebiasis, therefore, should be followed by biopsy to exclude or confirm an underlying carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Enterobiasis: a histopathological study of 259 patients.

Enterobius worms or their eggs, or both, are present in preserved tissue sections or tissue specimens of 259 patients whose medical records are on file at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington D.C., U.S.A. The most common site of infection (86.5%) was found to be the lumen of the appendix, where the worms provoke no reaction. Of the 259 patients 11 (4.2%) had worms and/or eggs in granulomas of the abdominal and pelvic peritoneum, and an equal number had granulomas on the peritoneum of the salphinx or on the surface of the ovary. There were also ectopic worms and/or eggs in granulomas on the peritoneum of the small and large intestines (2.7%). These Enterobius granulomas form around degenerating adult worms, around discrete eggs, around clusters of eggs, and, we believe, also around the tracks of migrating worms. Three patients (1.2%) had worms in perianal abscesses. A necrotic granuloma, removed from the lung of one patient, surrounded a degenerating adult worm. This suggests that the worm, carried to the lung as an embolus, impacted in a pulmonary arteriole. A stool specimen of one patient contains eggs of Enterobius, and that of another patient contains an adult Enterobius. This is the largest recorded histopathological study of enterobiasis in man.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Malassezia furfur--disseminated infection in premature infants.

Three infants, born prematurely, died after clinical illnesses of 67, 65, and 60 days from infection by Malassezia furfur. Each infant had been nourished with lipid emulsions delivered through deep-line catheters. The infections, all discovered at autopsy, were characterized by massive involvement of lungs. Two of the three had endocardial vegetations containing M. furfur; all three had lesions in liver, kidney, and spleen, and two had lesions in adrenal, pancreas, and colon. In addition, one of the infants had acute meningoencephalitis caused by M. furfur. In some of the distant organs, yeast cells of M. furfur were growing in the lumina of small vessels, filling the lumina, but causing no vasculitis or infarction. In addition to these benign collections of yeasts within vessels, there were acute inflammatory lesions as well. These were consolidation, vasculitis, granulomatous inflammation, septic thrombosis, and septic infarction of lung and foci of necrosis and inflammation in kidney and liver. Two previously reported autopsies described neonates with lesions in lung and heart. The authors' three cases for which autopsies were performed had lesions in lung and heart too but, in addition, had dissemination with acute lesions in kidney and liver. Finally, one patient had a severe meningoencephalitis caused by M. furfur.

Fat Emulsions, Intravenous↗
PubMed1988

Pitted keratolysis: a manifestation of human dermatophilosis.

A case of pitted keratolysis caused by Dermatophilus congolensis is reported. The organism was isolated from the lesion and identified by its morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics. A survey of the literature revealed that it rarely causes human infections, but is a common causative agent of disease in domesticated and wild animals. Human infections reported previously were traced to contact with infected animals or contaminated soil. We report pitted keratolysis in a 44-year-old physician with no known history of such a contact.

Actinomycetales Infections↗
PubMed1988

Nodules in the conjunctiva, bung-eye, and bulge-eye in Africa caused by Mansonella perstans.

Eight patients from Uganda, Sudan, Nigeria, and Zaire presented with swelling of the eyelids, proptosis, or conjunctival granulomas. In 5 patients the cause was Mansonella perstans; in 1, it was a Wuchereria bancrofti-like worm; and in 2, an unidentifiable worm. The morphologic features and histopathologic changes in the conjunctiva and periorbital fat are described and illustrated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Does dexamethasone suppress the Mazzotti reaction in patients with onchocerciasis?

The Mazzotti reaction is a frequent complication in patients with onchocerciasis being treated with diethylcarbamazine (DEC); and more severe manifestations of this reaction may be unacceptable in many patients. It has recently been demonstrated that prednisone modifies the severity of this reaction and reduces the microfilaricidal activity of DEC. A clinical trial was performed at the National Leprosy Training Center in Wau, Sudan, to evaluate the clinical and histologic effect of the use of corticosteroids in patients receiving DEC. Administration of a low dose of dexamethasone (3 mg/day), begun after onset of the Mazzotti reaction, modifies the progression of the Mazzotti reaction without interfering with the microfilaricidal efficacy of DEC. Pretreatment with low-dose dexamethasone--prior to beginning DEC therapy--prevents the development of the Mazzotti reaction and greatly reduces the microfilaricidal activity. Administration of diphenhydramine, after onset of the Mazzotti reaction, has no effect on the course and intensity of the Mazzotti reaction nor on microfilaricidal activity. We recommend that low-dose corticosteroids be administered in conjunction with DEC--after onset of the Mazzotti reaction--and that they be tapered rapidly.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Abdominal angiostrongylosis in an African man: case study.

A nodule removed from the cecum of a 25-year-old Zairian man contained a degenerated adult nematode. The surrounding tissue contained larvae and eggs in various stages of cleavage. Eggs and larvae were indistinguishable from those of Angiostrongylus costaricensis. These morphological features are described. The diameter and cuticle, and the anatomic location of the adult worm is consistent with A. costaricensis. The tissue reaction was chronic with granulomatous inflammation and numerous eosinophils. This is the first report of abdominal angiostrongylosis of a human in Africa.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1987

Adult Mansonella perstans in the abdominal cavity in nine Africans.

Adult Mansonella perstans infected the abdominal cavity of nine patients seen at Karawa Hospital in the Ubangi territory of Zaire. In four patients the worms were removed at laparotomy, and in the other five they were removed at autopsy. Twelve adult worms were identified in the nine patients. None of the worms caused symptoms or contributed to the patient's death. Worms were in the hernial sac in three patients, and one each was in connective tissue beside a reactive mesenteric lymph node, in peripancreatic connective tissue, in perirenal connective tissue, in hepatic portal connective tissue, on the serosal surface of the small intestine, and in connective tissue adjacent to rectum. The diameter of male worms was 45 microns to 60 microns and of female worms, 80 microns to 125 microns. One female worm was removed intact. It was 6 cm long and had a bifurcated tail characteristic of M. perstans.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1987

Liesegang rings in tissue. How to distinguish Liesegang rings from the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyma renale.

Liesegang rings (LRs) are periodic precipitation zones from supersaturated solutions in colloidal systems. They are formed by a process that involves an interplay of diffusion, nucleation, flocculation or precipitation, and supersaturation. Examples include LRs of calcium carbonate in oölitic limestone (in nature), LRs of silver chromate in gelatin (in vitro), and LRs of glycoprotein in pulmonary corpora amylacea (in vivo). Here we describe LRs in lesions from 29 patients--mostly lesions of the kidney, synovium, conjunctiva, and eyelid. The LRs formed in cysts, or in fibrotic, inflamed, or necrotic tissue. The LRs in this study varied greatly in shape and size, measuring 7-800 microns. Special stains and energy-dispersive radiographic analysis or scanning electron microscopy revealed that some LRs contained calcium, iron (hemosiderin), silicon, and sulfur. Some pathologists have mistaken LRs for eggs, larvae, or adults of the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyma renale. D. renale is a large blood-red nematode that infects a variety of fish-eating mammals, especially mink. Fourteen documented infections of humans have been recorded, usually with adult worms expelled from the urethra. The adult worms are probably the largest helminth to parasitize humans. Eggs of D. renale are constant in size (60-80 microns X 39-47 microns), contain an embryo, and have characteristic sculpturing of the shell. Liesegang rings should not be mistaken for eggs, larvae, or adults of D. renale, or for any other helminth.

Chemical Precipitation↗
PubMed1986

Effects of placental malaria on mothers and neonates from Zaire.

Of one hundred placentas collected consecutively in the Ubangi district, Zaire, 64 had falciparum malaria. Mothers and infants of the 64 malarious and 36 non-malarious placentas were compared. The malarious placentas had no consistent relationship to infant length or head circumference, APGAR score, birthweight, maternal anemia, splenomegaly or hydramnios. The rate of hydramnios, in fact, was higher in the mothers with non-malarious placentas. Mothers with malarious placentas were younger (means 24) than mothers with non-malarious placentas (means 29). Mothers with fewer pregnancies were more likely to have malarious placentas than older multiparous mothers. There were 7 stillbirths, 4 from mothers with malarious placentas. Infants born to mothers with malarious placentas averaged 100 g less than those from mothers with non-malarious placentas. This study shows that mothers with falciparum malaria from the Ubangi district deliver normal and apparently unaffected infants.

Apgar Score↗
PubMed1986

North American brugian filariasis: report of nine infections of humans.

Nine people living in Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, or California acquired autochthonous brugian filariasis. Each patient had an enlarged lymph node containing a single worm or, in one patient, a pair of worms. Most worms were in lymphatic vessels within the node, but two worms were in the substance of the node. Ten worms were studied, seven female and three male. Female worms contained paired uteri that occupied most of the body cavity of the worm, and male worms contained a single reproductive tract. No worms were gravid. The diameter of the worms was small, 30 micron to 75 micron. The usual diameter of female worms was 65 micron to 75 micron, and 45 micron to 50 micron for male worms. The morphologic features of these worms, their anatomical location, and their geographic distribution are all characteristic of infection with a North American Brugia species.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Fatal human ascariasis following secondary massive infection.

More than 796 Ascaris lumbricoides worms weighing 550 g were recovered at autopsy from a 2-year-old black South African girl. Most of the worms were taken from necrotic small intestine, but worms were also in the stomach, esophagus, intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts, and gallbladder. The worms had caused torsion and gangrene of the ileum, which was interpreted as the cause of death. Worms were formalin-fixed and individually weighed. There were 796 intact worms and 112 appreciably large (greater than 0.2 g) fragments of worms. Statistical analysis of the weights revealed 2 distinct populations of worms: 16 large worms (0.5-2.3 g) and 778 small worms (0.03-0.95 g). The difference in weight between these 2 groups of worms was significant (male and female worms treated separately; P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.001). These observations reveal that the patient acquired a massive and fatal infection with A. lumbricoides while hosting a relatively burden.

Ascariasis↗