PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

D Parry

Publications and source records attributed to D Parry.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of iron chelation therapy on recovery from deep coma in children with cerebral malaria.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral malaria is a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection in children, with a mortality rate of 15 to 50 percent despite antimalarial therapy. METHODS: To determine whether combining iron chelation with quinine therapy speeds the recovery of consciousness, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the iron chelator deferoxamine in 83 Zambian children with cerebral malaria. To be enrolled, patients had to be less than six years old, have P. falciparum parasitemia, have normal cerebrospinal fluid without evidence of bacterial infection, and be in a coma from which they could not be aroused. Deferoxamine (100 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, infused intravenously for 72 hours) or placebo was added to standard therapy with quinine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. The time to the recovery of full consciousness, time to parasite clearance, and mortality were examined with Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis. RESULTS: The rate of recovery of full consciousness among the 42 patients given deferoxamine was 1.3 times that among the 41 given placebo (95 percent confidence interval, 0.7 to 2.3); the median time to recovery was 20.2 hours in the deferoxamine group and 43.1 hours in the placebo group (P = 0.38). Among 50 patients with deep coma, the rate of recovery of full consciousness was increased 2.2-fold with deferoxamine (95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 4.7), decreasing the median recovery time from 68.2 to 24.1 hours (P = 0.03). Among 69 patients for whom data on parasite clearance were available, the rate of clearance with deferoxamine was 2.0 times that with placebo (95 percent confidence interval, 1.2 to 3.6). Among all 83 patients, mortality was 17 percent in the deferoxamine group and 22 percent in the placebo group (P = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS: Iron chelation therapy may hasten the clearance of parasitemia and enhance recovery from deep coma in cerebral malaria.

Child, Preschool

Iron chelation with desferrioxamine B in adults with asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia.

To determine if iron chelation therapy has activity against human malaria, we administered desferrioxamine B in amounts of 100 mg/kg per day by continuous 72-hour subcutaneous infusions to 28 volunteers with asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Peripheral blood concentrations of P falciparum ring forms were determined at 12-hour intervals in all subjects and serum concentrations of desferrioxamine B + ferrioxamine (the iron complex of desferrioxamine B) were measured in 26 subjects. Geometric mean concentrations of asexual intraerythrocytic parasites decreased with both chelator and placebo treatment, but the decrement with desferrioxamine B was significantly greater than that with placebo (P less than .006) during both the initial and crossover periods. Compared with placebo, desferrioxamine B treatment was associated with an almost 10-fold enhancement of the rate of parasite clearance during both phases of the trial (P less than .007). Mean +/- SEM steady state concentrations of desferrioxamine B + ferrioxamine were 6.90 +/- 0.60 mumol/L at 36 hours and 7.72 +/- 0.68 mumol/L at 72 hours; in vitro, the ID50 has been reported to be approximately 4 to 20 mumol/L. No drug toxicity was detected. Parasitemia recurred in 19 of 24 participants followed-up over 1 to 6 months. We conclude that desferrioxamine B enhances the clearance of P falciparum parasitemia and that iron chelation may provide a new strategy to be developed for the treatment of malaria.

Adolescent

Actinomycosis associated with pilonidal sinus of the penis.

We report a case of actinomycosis associated with a penile pilonidal sinus. This association does not appear to have been described previously. We recommend the submission of biopsies of unusual lumps in the genital region (fresh biopsies for bacteriological examination and fixed biopsies for histomorphological assessment).

Actinomycosis

Cholecystostomy.

The role of cholecystostomy in the sugical treatment of gallstones has been considered. In a consecutive series of 558 patients who underwent surgery for gallstones, 30 (5-4 per cent) had cholecystostomy alone and a further 17 (3-1 per cent) cholecystostomy combined with exploration of the bile ducts. Cholecystostomy was done because cholecystectomy was technically very hazardous in 15 patients. In the remaining patients cholecystostomy was preferred to cholecystectomy because o f the poor general condition of the patient or the presence of pancreatitis. Of the 47 patients submitted to cholecystostomy, 2(4-2 per cent) died postoeratively and 4(8-4 percent) subsequently underwent cholecystectomy. Of 24 patients who were available for long term follow-up, only 1 patient had pain which was definitely considered to be due to gallstones, although 3 other patients also had abdominal pain, while 7 patients showed radiological evidience of gallstones. It is contended that cholecystostomy has a small but definite part to play in the immediate surgical treatment of gallstones and that the long term results of the operation are sufficiently good to justify its use in selected patients.

Adult