Disseminated histoplasmosis treated with fluconazole.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H C Goodpasture.
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We describe a case of wound botulism associated with a tooth abscess in a 5-year-old boy. We reviewed the literature and reports to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta) of laboratory-confirmed cases of wound botulism. From 1943 through 1990, 47 cases were reported. Type A botulinus toxin was identified in 32 cases, type B in 13, types A and B in 1, and an unknown type in 1. Botulism was associated with wounds from trauma, use of injectable drugs, and surgery. Sinusitis after use of intranasal cocaine has also been associated with botulism. Treatment for wound botulism includes prompt debridement of the wound for eliminating anaerobic conditions, intensive care, and treatment with antitoxin.
Major advances in molecular virology have led to the development of new antiviral compounds. These drugs include ribavirin, used in the treatment of severe respiratory syncytial virus infection in children; amantadine, used in the prophylaxis and treatment of influenza A infection; acyclovir, used in a variety of herpesvirus infections, including primary gingivostomatitis, genital herpes and herpes zoster; ganciclovir, used in the treatment of retinitis due to cytomegalovirus, and zidovudine, used in the prophylaxis and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection.
A 58-year-old, alcoholic, diabetic man presented with multiple, ulcerated skin lesions and polymicrobial septicemia. Sporothrix schenckii was recovered from blood cultures and was resistant to amphotericin B by in vitro testing. Amphotericin B therapy failed, but the patient responded dramatically to itraconazole therapy, only to relapse 3 months after therapy was stopped. Reinstitution of itraconazole therapy has produced another dramatic response. This report is noteworthy for three reasons. First, to our knowledge, it represents only the second reported instance of fungemia with S schenckii that responded to medical therapy. Second, it illustrates that in vitro antifungal susceptibility tests may predict clinical infection response to drug therapy. Third, it suggests that itraconazole has significant promise in treating systemic sporotrichosis.
Thirteen adult patients (47-81 yr) with gram-negative bacteremia and normal (less than or equal to 1.5 mg/dl) serum creatinines were treated with 1 or 2 gm of cefotaxime every 8 or 12 hr. The infecting organisms were Escherichia coli (9 strains), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2 strains), and one isolate of Salmonella enteritidis and Serratia marcescens. All patients recovered without any serious sequelae. The range of MICs for cefotaxime and desacetyl-cefotaxime were 0.015-0.25 micrograms/ml and 0.015-4.0 micrograms/ml, respectively. The MBC values for cefotaxime and desacetyl-cefotaxime were identical to the MIC values except for two strains. The trough levels of cefotaxime varied from 65.9 to 1.1 micrograms/ml. The serum concentration of desacetyl-cefotaxime varied from 84 to less than 1.0 microgram/ml. All corresponding trough serum inhibitory activities (SIA) were greater than or equal to 1:32. Comparisons of calculated and directly measured serum bactericidal activity (SBA) and SIA results suggest an additive and occasional synergistic benefit of the cefotaxime desacetyl metabolite. This study supports the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of 8- and 12-hr dosing intervals for cefotaxime against bacteremic gram-negative strains having the usual high susceptibility (MICs, less than or equal to 0.25 micrograms/ml) to the newer cephalosporins.
Toxic shock syndrome is a rapidly developing disease which may be lethal if not recognized and treated early. While this disease is usually associated with menstruating females, it is being seen in both male and female patients following clean, elective surgery. Toxic shock syndrome has been reported following surgical procedures which normally have a very low incidence of postoperative wound infections. Toxic shock syndrome is associated with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria which produce the toxic shock syndrome toxin 1. Three patients with postoperative toxic shock syndrome, of varying degrees of severity, are presented. Prompt institution of resuscitative and therapeutic measures can prevent the potentially fatal outcome of this postoperative complication.
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Since the long-term catheterized patient is at significant risk of urinary tract infection, and the catheter drainage bags of these patients are at significant risk of becoming reservoirs for nosocomial pathogens, we carried out a randomized, controlled study to determine the efficacy of intermittent drainage bag instillation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in patients requiring indwelling Foley catheters for 5 days or more. Herein we report the effects of this technique on the rates of catheter and bag bacteriuria, the duration to positive culture, the temporal relationships observed, and the spectrum of organisms recovered. Bag source bacteriuria was found with the same frequency in both control and H2O2 groups. H2O2 did reduce contamination of the drainage bag but did not reduce catheter-associated bacteriuria or frequency of symptomatic urinary tract infection. Furthermore, H2O2 did not reduce the frequency of bag contamination with most of the common nosocomial urinary pathogens.
Two patients with fungal infection of the central nervous system (coccidioidal meningitis and cerebral histoplasmomas) were treated with ketoconazole for 30 months. Both responded to dosages substantially less than those described previously for similar infections. Neither patient experienced any significant adverse effects from the prolonged therapy.
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A 31-year-old man had a maxillary sinus infection and osteomyelitis. In vitro lymphocyte transformation studies indicated that he had a specific immune tolerance to Alternaria organisms. The etiologic agent was recovered and was identified as Alternaria alternata.
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Eight adult women became severely ill with an acute, toxic erythroderma during menses. The syndrome was characterized by fever, generalized erythema, profound shock, multiple organ dysfunction, and desquamation occurring several days after the rash had faded. Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular abnormalities were present in all patients; three patients required ventilatory support; dialysis was performed on two; and one patient died. Mild relapse occurred in two patients during subsequent menses; the other patients have recovered without sequelae during follow-up of 6 to 42 months. Cervical colonization or local infection with Staphylococcus aureus is associated with this syndrome.
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During 1973 and 1974, we looked for cases of Colorado tick fever throughout Colorado; 228 cases were identified. Although 90% of the patients reported exposure to ticks before illness, only 52% were aware of an actual tick bite. Typical symptoms of fever, myalgia, and headache were common, but gastrointestinal symptoms were also prominent in 20% of the patients. Twenty percent were hospitalized; no deaths or permanent sequelae were noted. Persistent viremia (greater than or equal to 4 weeks) was found in about half of the cases; this finding was not associated with the occurrence of prolonged symptoms (greater than or equal to 3 weeks), which were also reported in half of the cases. One patient became reinfected with the virus. Increasing tourism in endemic areas and the frequent occurrence of prolonged or biphasic illnesses provide the potential for patients with Colorado tick fever to seek medical care anywhere in the United States.