Inhalation fever: a proposed unifying term for febrile reactions to inhalation of noxious substances.
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Dust↗
Biomedical subjects
D S Pratt
Publications and source records attributed to D S Pratt.
The use of fluorescent labeled antigen to follow the fate of instilled immune complexes in the rabbit lung.
To follow the fate of exogenously introduced immune complexes in the rabbit lung, a direct labeling method was devised. Bovine serum albumin was incubated with fluorescein isothiocyanate, washed and then bound at equivalence with antibovine serum albumin. Immune complexes thus prepared are injected into a rabbit airway and the animal was sacrificed. Using chilled alcohol fixative and paraffin embedding 4 micrometer sections were prepared for light and fluorescent microscopy. This technique readily verifies that labeled antigen is taken up by alveolar macrophages. Electron microscopy using ferritin-antiferritin complexes corroborate these light findings.
Animals↗
Exercise-induced anaphylactic reaction to shellfish.
The syndrome of immediate type I food hypersensitivity, mediated by tissue-bound IgE antibody and mast cell histamine release, is well recorded in the medical literature. This case study represents a previously undescribed late food hypersensitivity, induced only by strenuous exercise. Identification of this new syndrome illustrates classical epidemiologic analysis, improves medical advice for the allergic and athletically inclined, and raises new questions in the areas of allergy and immunology.
Adult↗
Rapidly fatal pulmonary fibrosis: the accelerated variant of interstitial pneumonitis.
We sought to explore immunological factors in patients who died with rapidly fatal fibrosing lung diseases (Hamman-Rich syndrome). A retrospective review of cases of interstitial lung disease showed 12 recent deaths from Hamman-Rich syndrome. The mean age was 62, men outnumbering women 3 : 1. Five patients had proved collagen vascular disease (rheumatoid arthritis three, lupus two). Four others had a history of allergic disorders, syphilis, chronic eosinophilia, or hypersensitivity reactions. One patient showed disappearance of immunofluorescence as fibrosis advanced, which has not previously been reported. The study suggests a possible aetiological link between disorders of immunity and Hamman-Rich syndrome. The evidence also supports the notion that Hamman-Rich syndrome is an accelerated variant of the more indolent interstitial pneumonias.
Adult↗
Circulating immune complexes in pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma.
We analyzed serum from six patients with pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma for the presence of circulating immune complexes. These levels were correlated with the pulmonary histopathology and immunofluorescence findings. Levels of circulating immune complexes were elevated in five subjects. All of the subjects had an active cellular histology. Immunofluorescent studies showed granular deposits of IgG and complement (C3) in alveolar walls and blood vessels in all five patients. One subject had no detectable circulating immune complexes and showed a predominantly fibrotic pattern by light microscopy. In addition, immunofluorescence in this patient also showed no immunoglobulin or complement deposition within the lung tissue. These findings show that circulating immune complexlike activity is present in patients with cellular disease and suggest that their formation or deposition, or both, may contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma.
Adult↗
Successful treatment of Brucella melitensis end-carditis.
Brucella endocarditis is a rare, but often fatal, complication of brucellosis. A 32 year old man acquired brucellosis while on a visit to his former home in Greece and presented six months later with malaise, fever and aortic regurgitation. Blood cultures grew Brucella melitensis biotype 1. Combined chemotherapy with streptomycin, tetracycline and rifampin sterilized his blood; however, his aortic valve was replaced owing to recurrent emboli and cardiac failure. Over the next 18 months the patient's antibody titer to Brucella fell and his blood reamined sterile. Cure was achieved by resection of the infected aortic valve and 10 weeks of bactericidal therapy for B. melitensis.
Adult↗
Diagnosis of a thoracic inlet tumour by transbronchial biopsy.
A 67-year-old man presented to the pulmonary service with left shoulder and arm pain. Examination disclosed a left Horner's syndrome. Supraclavicular exploration at another hospital was not helpful. Transbronchial biopsy through a flexible fibreoptic bronchoscope retrieved tissues showing poorly differentiated carcinoma. There are no previous reports of the use of the technique in the diagnosis of a Pancoast tumour with a normal standard chest radiograph.
Aged↗
Immunofluorescent patterns in the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias.
Immunologic mechanisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the IIP's. Thirty five patients with IIP were divided into three groups: group I, seven subjects with DIP; group II, thirteen with UIP; and group III, fifteen with mural fibrosis. Lung biopsies were exposed to fluorescein-conjugated antisera to IgG, IgA, IgE, IgM, C3, fibrinogen, and albumin. In group I, all patients demonstrated IgG and C3 in a granular pattern lining alveolar walls. Similarly, in group II, all had IgG and 10 had C3 within alveolar walls. In contrast, only two group III subjects demonstrated IgG and none C3. Only one of 19 control subjects hav alveolar wall immunoglobulin and C3 deposition. The incidence of positive rheumatoid and antinuclear factors was similar in all three study groups. These data suggest that immune complex deposition may play a role in the pathogenesis of the cellular interstitial pneumonias and that once mural fibrosis supervenes, these complexes are no longer present.
Adult↗