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F C Sitzmann

Publications and source records attributed to F C Sitzmann.

119 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate versus chlorprothixene/phenobarbital sedation in children undergoing MRI studies.

BACKGROUND: Few clinical studies have assessed gamma-hydroxybutyrate and chlorprothixene/phenobarbital sedation in children. This prospective trial compared the two regimes in children, in particular concerning differences in recovery time. METHODS: 28 pediatric oncology patients undergoing elective MRI studies at a university hospital were randomly assigned to either receive gamma-hydroxybutyrate or chlorprothixene/phenobarbital sedation. Time to induce deep sedation (Ramsay score of 5) and recovery time, the incidence of failure of sedation, the frequency of side effects, the need for therapeutic interventions, and the number of patients receiving additional midazolam were recorded. Analysis of hemodynamic parameters was performed at five defined time points. RESULTS: All 28 MRI studies were successfully completed. Recovery time was significantly shorter with gamma-hydroxybutyrate (p < 0.01). There were more side effects with chlorprothixene/phenobarbital, in particular tachycardia and hyperexcitation. Vomiting was the side effect most often seen in gamma-hydroxybutyrate sedation. Therapeutic interventions were not required in any patient. Additional midazolam was necessary to maintain satisfactory sedation in six children receiving gamma-hydroxybutyrate and four receiving chlorprothixene/phenobarbital. CONCLUSIONS: Due to its significantly shorter recovery time, gamma-hydroxybutyrate is a reasonable sedative drug for children undergoing non-invasive diagnostic procedures, and is superior to chlorprothixene/phenobarbital. In pediatric oncology patients gamma-hydroxybutyrate appears to be associated more often with vomiting. The long recovery time and its great variability make chlorprothixene/phenobarbital a less valuable alternative.

Adolescent↗

[The clinical significance of pseudouridine determination of the urine in children and adolescents].

A HPLC-method is described to determine the Pseudouridine/creatinine ratio in spontaneous urine samples in infancy and childhood. The urines of 74 healthy children between 1 and 18 years of age and of 231 children with different diseases were examined for this ratio, making 1097 measurements. 157 children suffered from a malignant disease, 66 of them having an acute leukemia. Those patients, who remain in remission of the leukemia showed normal values, whereas the others had elevated ratios, reflecting the activity of the leukemia, when they were followed up by multiple determinations. Perhaps it is also possible to detect preclinical stages of leukemia by measuring the pseudouridine/creatinine ratio routinously over a long period of time. Today no strict correlation between the prognosis of leukemia and the level of this ratio can be drawn. Similar behaviour of the pseudouridine/creatinine ratio is seen in other malignant diseases with exception of brain tumors. The difference to leukemias is, that all other malignant tumors show more often normal values in patients with a remaining tumor. A pathological value of pseudouridine may also be seen in others than malignant diseases.

Adolescent↗

[The effect of methotrexate pharmacokinetics and of leucovorin rescue on the prognosis of osteosarcoma].

A total of 129 high-dosage methotrexate therapies performed in 19 patients with osteosarcoma were retrospectively analyzed. Serum methotrexate peak concentrations were found to vary widely, both inter-individually as well as in the same patient. The measured MTX peak concentrations correlated closely with pharmacokinetic data such as area under the curve and total body clearance. No correlations were found between the serum MTX correlations and different times after methotrexate administration. Increase in leucovorin rescue or low MTX peak concentrations were associated with poor prognosis. High-dosage methotrexate therapies with leucovorin rescue need to be further optimized in accordance with biochemical knowledge of the mode of action and the individual pharmacokinetic data of methotrexate. Such optimization may be expected to improve the prognosis for osteosarcoma. Serum methotrexate concentrations should be determined not only 24, 48, and 72 hours after methotrexate administration, in order to avoid elevated toxicity of the therapy, but also at the start of methotrexate infusion, in order to influence MTX peak concentrations at an early stage if necessary. Measurement of L-leucovorin in serum will be necessary, to enable a restrictive leucovorin rescue to be performed safely.

Adolescent↗

[Complicated malaria tropica in an infant].

We report on a five month-old infant from Cameroon, who was admitted because of febrile gastroenteritis after living in Germany for two weeks. Since the patient was somnolent, had a parasitaemia of Plasmodium falciparum of 230,000/microliter, a haemoglobin concentration of 5.3 g/dl and a thrombocytopenia, a complicated falciparum malaria was diagnosed. Treatment was started immediately with intravenous 20 mg quinine/kg bw as a loading dose, followed by 10 mg/kg bw every 12 hours, combined with intravenous clindamycin 10 mg/kg bw bd. Red blood cells were transfused once. The parasitaemia dropped to 2000 trophozoites/microliter within 48 hours. No asexual stages were detectable from the third day of treatment on. Weekly controls for the following four weeks remained negative. The mortality rate of complicated malaria is 50% in the first year of life, which can be reduced by early treatment. We present this case to draw attention to therapeutic options in infants.

Animals↗

The diagnostic value of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies in children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) are considered to be specific for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical significance of anti-CCP antibodies in a cohort of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and if they can be used to identify patients with an unfavourable course of disease. METHODS: 68 serum samples were investigated. 45 patients were diagnosed with JIA (15 male and 30 female) aged 1.9-17.3 years (median 12.9 mean 11,0). 5 patients had polyarticular (RF negative), 2 polyarticular (RF positive), 25 oligoarticular JIA, 6 enthesitis related arthritis, 2 psoriatric arthritis, 3 patients had systemic disease and 2 unclassified arthritis. 23 samples were taken from patients with non-inflammatory cardiac diseases undergoing interventional cardiac therapy. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany) was used for the detection and quantification of anti-CCP antibodies in patients with JIA. RESULTS: Overall, anti-CCP antibodies were found in 2.9% (2/68) of all samples and in 4.4 % (2/45) patients with JIA. CONCLUSION: Anti-CCP antibodies are associated with RF positive polyarticular course of JIA. Anti-CCP antibodies are not relevant for other subgroups of JIA. Therefore anti-CCP Abs in patients with JIA should not be investigated routinely.

Adolescent↗

[Ultrasonography of hips in neonates].

For evaluation of the development of the hip joints in young infants, between Jun., 1988 and Oct., 1991, 522 hips of the infants under 4 months of age were studied by ultrasonography based on the method well described by Graf. The results revealed only 48% of the hips of neonatal group was type I (stable type). But this percentage increased with age: 90% in the group under 2 months of age; 97% in the group under 4 months of age. Compared with the findings of other studies in Europe, the development and the stability of the hips of our neonatal group seemed poorer. But this condition improved much within 2 months after birth. So we concluded that, except the high risk group, the ultrasonographic screening approach should be performed after 2 months of age, but not in neonatal period under considering the cost-benefit.

Female↗