PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Pierard

Publications and source records attributed to D Pierard.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Comparative study of cefetamet pivoxil and penicillin V in the treatment of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis.

The efficacy of cefetamet pivoxil (20 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg b.i.d.) was investigated in an open, prospective, randomized, comparative multicenter trial involving 148 children suffering from group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) pharyngo-tonsillitis. Phenoxymethylpenicillin given for 10 days was used as the reference drug and resulted in 15% treatment failures. After treatment with cefetamet pivoxil 20 mg/kg b.i.d., 2 failures (5.8%) were observed in 34 patients treated for 7 days and 2 (6%) in 33 patients after 10 days treatment. In 8 children treated with cefetamet pivoxil 10 mg/kg b.i.d. for 10 days, 7 were cured and 1 relapsed in the late follow-up. Recruitment for this dosage group is being continued. No serious adverse events occurred. Cefetamet pivoxil, given b.i.d., can be considered an alternative to phenoxymethylpenicillin in the treatment of GABHS pharyngo-tonsillitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Quality control in antimicrobial disk susceptibility testing: a Belgian multicenter study.

A Belgian multicenter trial was conducted to evaluate problems encountered with quality control results of antimicrobial disk susceptibility testing and to compare the performance of BBL disks and Rosco tablets. Over a period of four weeks 18 laboratories daily tested three reference strains against eight antibiotics. A standardised method was used by all participants. For all results together 10.4% and 7.3% of the measurements with BBL disks and Rosco tablets, respectively, were outside the recommended range. Major problems were observed for some specific strain-antibiotic combinations. Standard deviations were similar for both systems; their precision was comparable. The results suggest that cooperation between manufacturers and some reference laboratories could be improved in order to establish optimal quality control limits.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1990

Streptomycin pharmacokinetics in relapsing Mycobacterium xenopi peritonitis.

Relapsing peritonitis due to Mycobacterium xenopi developed in an 80-year-old man undergoing continuous peritoneal dialysis after appropriately treated concurrent bacterial peritonitis. The patient presented with a lymphocytic exudative peritoneal drainage fluid. The diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis was made by identification of acid-fast bacilli in peritoneal effluent and culture of M. xenopi. Oral antituberculous drugs in combination with intraperitoneal streptomycin achieved suppression of the disease, permitting peritoneal dialysis to be continued with satisfactory clearance and ultrafiltration capacity during a follow-up period of up to 35 months. Streptomycin kinetics revealed that 75% of the intraperitoneally administered dose of streptomycin is absorbed from the dialysate.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

A clinical and sero-epidemiological study of 190 Belgian patients suffering from Lyme borreliosis.

We present a sero-epidemiological study of 190 Belgian cases of Lyme borreliosis, a multisystemic disease caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by a tick bite. The whole spectrum of clinical pictures was observed in these patients, including "erythema chronicum migrans" (63%), neurological involvement (47%) and arthritis (22%), frequently in combination. Our results are compared to findings in other countries. Among the 437 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in the Sambre and Meuse valleys around Namur, we discovered 43 ticks (9.8%) with spirochaetes in the midgut. The ecology of these arthropods explains why this infection is more prevalent in the spring and the summer. Perhaps for the same reason, the incidence ranges from low near the coast to medium in the central part and high in the wooded south-eastern part of Belgium. The main conclusions are that Lyme borreliosis is endemic in Belgium, that all the clinical pictures can be observed ant that a clear epidemiological case-definition is needed, combining clinical signs and serological results.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

In vitro activity of amoxycillin plus clavulanic acid and ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid compared with that of other antibiotics against anaerobic bacteria.

The activity of amoxycillin/clavulanic acid (Augmentin) and ticarcillin/clavulanic acid (Timentin) was tested against 303 unselected clinical anaerobic isolates recently collected in seven Belgian university hospitals and compared with that of 11 other antimicrobial agents. Bacteroides spp. accounted for 52.1% of the isolates, Clostridium spp. for 23.4%, anaerobic cocci for 15.5%, nonsporeforming gram-positive bacilli for 4.6% and Fusobacterium spp. for 3.3%. Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid (fixed clavulanic acid concentration of 2 mg/l) was the most active drug with an overall susceptibility rate of 99.7%. Amoxycillin/clavulanic acid (fixed ratio of 2:1) and chloramphenicol inhibited 97.4% of the isolates, metronidazole 95.4%, piperacillin 92.4%, ticarcillin 91.4%, clindamycin 87.8%, cefotetan 81.2%, cefazolin 63.0%, cefuroxime 60.4%, erythromycin 57.8%, penicillin 57.1% and doxycycline 52.1%. beta-lactamases were detected exclusively in Bacteroides spp. isolates (79.1% positive).

Amoxicillin↗
PubMed1989

In-vitro activity of lomefloxacin in comparison with pefloxacin and ofloxacin.

The in-vitro activity of lomefloxacin (SC 47111, NY-198) was investigated by the determination of MICs in agar and in broth, of MBCs in broth, of killing curves and of the duration of the post-antibiotic effect. MICs measured in broth and in agar were almost identical. Lomefloxacin was two- to eight-fold less active against Gram-positive bacteria than ofloxacin. Its activity against Staphylococcus aureus was independent of resistance to penicillin and oxacillin. The activity of lomefloxacin, ofloxacin and pefloxacin was poor against JK corynebacteria. Enterobacteriaceae, Aeromonas spp., Haemophilus, influenzae, Neisseriaceae and Campylobacter jejuni were highly susceptible to the three quinolones investigated. Non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli were less susceptible. MBCs were within one dilution of the corresponding MICs. The killing rate was very high against Gram-negative bacilli (2.5-4.0 log cfu/ml reduction in 2 h) whereas it was low against Gram-positive bacteria (0.5-1.0 log cfu/ml reduction in 2 h). Emergence of resistance was not observed. The duration of the post-antibiotic effect with Gram-negative bacilli depended on the strain and species (median: 0.9-1.5 h). The post-antibiotic effect was insignificant with Staph. aureus.

Aeromonas↗
PubMed1988

Fibroblasts induce the assembly of the macromolecules of the basement membrane.

The mechanism regulating the deposition of basement membrane components (BMCs) in a polymeric structure at the junction with the connective tissues is not yet understood. Cultures and cocultures of epithelial BMC-producing cells (L2 or PER cells) and fibroblasts were prepared in several experimental conditions and the organization of BMCs was studied by immunofluorescence. The pattern of BMCs in pure cultures of L2 or pulmonary epithelial rat (PER) cells consisted of intra- and extracellular granular deposits. At very high density, the cell contours were also underlined by a disrupted network of BMC deposits. A different fibrillar plexus--containing laminin, collagen type IV, and heparan-sulfate proteoglycan resistant to deoxycholate treatment and distant from the cell membrane--was observed in cocultures of L2 or PER cells with fibroblasts. Fibrils of fibronectin and/or collagen type I were most often dissociated from this plexus of BMCs. Similar results were obtained by adding a conditioned medium of L2 or PER cells to confluent fibroblasts, even when the cells were killed. Pure laminin also bound to the fibroblast layer. A coated film of fibronectin or polymeric collagen type I was unable to bind BMC provided by a conditioned medium. It is suggested that molecule(s) synthesized by fibroblasts and deposited in the pericellular matrix are involved in the assembly of BMCs.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Identification of fragments of proximal and distal tubular cells in the urine of patients under cytostatic treatment by immunoelectron microscopy with monoclonal antibodies.

In an attempt to identify the origin of cellular fragments released in the urine of patients treated with potentially nephrotoxic drugs such as cytostatics, two monoclonal antibodies were applied: monoclonal antibody PM II 9 C2, directed against an antigen in distal tubular cells; and monoclonal antibody PM II 39 H11 specific for an antigen in proximal tubular cells. The specificities of both monoclonal antibodies were elaborated in the indirect as well as in the direct immunofluorescence technique. Both antibodies were then used to identify cellular fragments obtained from the urine of patients treated with cytostatic drugs by ultracentrifugation. By application of the indirect immunogold method, it was shown that material of proximal as well as distal tubular origin was shed by the damaged cells. Whereas the proximal tubular antigenic epitope recognized by PM II 39 H11 was always found in large irregular complexes of debris-containing vesicles, the distal tubular antigenic epitope recognized by PM II 9 C2 was always found associated with filament-like regular structures. This is the first report in which excretion of components of distal tubular cells is demonstrated as a consequence of the nephrotoxic side effects of cytostatic treatment. With the help of monoclonal antibodies, it has now become possible to identify and to investigate the damage inflicted on the distal part of the tubule system in addition to the well-documented proximal tubular damage.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1987

Evaluation of five commercially available direct radio-immunoassays for the determination of 17 beta-estradiol in serum for the hormonal monitoring of ovarian stimulation.

Five direct radio-immunoassay kits for the dosage of 17 beta-estradiol were assessed for their usefulness to monitor the serum values of 17 beta-estradiol in stimulated and natural ovarian cycles. Prerequisites included a turn-around time of 4 hours for an assay of 100 tubes and a range extended to at least 2,000 ng/l. The following parameters were evaluated: characteristics of the standard curve, sensitivity, precision profile, within- and between-assay precision, analytical drift and linearity. We found that the five tested methods are technically suitable to monitor serum 17 beta-estradiol in stimulated cycles but they all lack precision for low 17 beta-estradiol levels as seen in the early follicular phase of natural cycles.

Estradiol↗
PubMed1986

Efficacy and safety of pefloxacin in the treatment of severe infections in patients hospitalized in intensive care units.

Sixteen patients, 14 with an infection of the lower respiratory tract and two with cholangitis, were treated with pefloxacin 400 mg bid or tid. The original pathogens were eradicated in all but one patient. Pefloxacin therapy resulted in clinical cure in 11 patients, three patients were improved clinically and in two patients a clinical failure was observed. No adverse effects were noticed during or after pefloxacin administration.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Aztreonam treatment of gram-negative septicemia.

Seventy-five aztreonam treatment courses in 74 patients with gram-negative septicemia resulted in 56 clinical cures (75%), 12 partial clinical cures (16%), and 7 clinical failures (9%). Eradication of the original pathogen from the blood was obtained in all patients but two, who had relapses 1 and 4 days, respectively, after treatment. In nine patients (12%) a superinfection was reported. Significant adverse reactions were limited to one transient urticarial rash. Aztreonam may prove to be an effective alternative for the treatment of gram-negative septicemia, but superinfections should be carefully monitored.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Characterization of a spontaneously transformed pulmonary embryonic rat (PER) epithelial cell line.

A spontaneously transformed pulmonary embryonic rat epithelial cell line (PER) is described in terms of growth, tumorigenicity, growth factor responsiveness and biosynthetic capacity. At low-passage subcultures, PER cells grew as a monolayer and did not form colonies in soft agar. After long-term subcultivation, they lost contact inhibition, became anchorage-independent and formed tumours in nude mice. Low concentrations of foetal calf serum permit the maximum growth rate. The multiplication and metabolic activity, assessed by 2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake, was significantly stimulated by growth factors. PER cells synthesized collagen types I, III, IV and V, laminin and fibronectin, and organized a pericellular matrix made up of only basement membrane components (type IV collagen and laminin) and fibronectin. These data enabled us to define PER cells as a transformed epithelial cell line evolving towards malignancy with long-term subcultivation. These cells appeared to be a valuable tool in studies of tumour cell-matrix interactions and regulation of growth factor receptors in tumorigenesis.

Animals↗