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Biomedical subjects

J A Curtin

Publications and source records attributed to J A Curtin.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Serious infections from Bacillus sp.

Serious infections caused by organisms of the genus Bacillus developed in seven patients. Five drug abusers had either endocarditis or osteomyelitis, one leukemic patient had necrotizing fasciitis, and one patient had a ventriculoatrial shunt infection with recurrent bacteremia. All patients recovered. Experience with these cases reemphasizes the importance of not dismissing Bacillus organisms as culture contaminants, especially when isolated from blood, body fluids, or closed-space infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Tuberculoma of the brain.

Four patients with cerebral tuberculomas had presenting manifestations that included seizure disorder, exophthalmos, or extremity weakness. Although rare in this country, this diagnosis should not be overlooked in such patients, since combined surgical and medical therapy may be curative.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: relationship between formation of antibodies to teichoic acid and development of metastatic abscesses.

Of 50 patients with bacteremia due to Staphylococcus aureus but without clinical evidence of endocarditis, 24 developed antibodies to the cell wall teichoic acid of S. aureus that were demonstrable by counterimmunoelectrophoresis. However, only 16 of the 24 patients developed titers of antibodies high enough for detection by passive gel diffusion. Eleven of the 16 patients developed evidence of complications due to metastatic infection. In contrast, of the 34 patients who were antibody-negative by gel diffusion, only one patient developed evidence of metastatic seeding. Thus, the development of antibodies to teichoic acid at a level detectable by the gel diffusion technique is regularly associated with complicated infections due to S. aureus that require more prolonged therapy, whereas bacteremic patients not developing such an antibody response rarely develop complications and may be treated with a two-week course of therapy.

Abscess↗
PubMed1975

Prophylactic antibiotics and wound infections following laminectomy for lumber disc herniation.

The authors review 531 consecutive operations for lumbar disc herniation performed on 496 patients by one neurosurgeon to determine the effect of prophylactic antibiotics upon postoperative wound infections. In this retrospective analysis 16 instances of sepsis were found, 11 considered to be major and five minor. In the 128 cases in which no antibacterial agents were given, 11 major and 1 minor infection occurred. Four minor infections developed in the 402 occasions when antibiotics were given in the perioperative period. Men had a significantly greater risk of developing infection than women. These data suggest that pre- and postoperative antibiotic therapy directed at a narrow spectrum of microorganisms reduced the incidence of significant wound infections in patients undergoing laminectomy for lumbar disc herniation.

Adult↗