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Biomedical subjects

K Lincoln

Publications and source records attributed to K Lincoln.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Medical termination of pregnancy at 63 to 83 days gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of a medical regimen for the termination of pregnancy within the gestational age range of 63 to 83 days. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Gynaecology department within a district general hospital. POPULATION: Women attending the pregnancy advisory clinic between June 1996 and December 1997. METHODS: The medical regimen used was mifepristone 200 mg orally followed after 36 to 48 h by misoprostol 800 microg administered vaginally. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The success rate of the medical termination of pregnancy regimen, where success was defined as achieving complete abortion without the need for secondary intervention by either surgical or repeat medical means. RESULTS: Primary medical termination of pregnancy was chosen by 253 (80.8%) of the 313 women and was successful in 239 (94.5%). Repeat medical treatment achieved completion of the abortion in a further three women (1.2%) and surgical evacuation of the uterus was required in 10 (4.0%). One woman declined further intervention after failed medical treatment but subsequently miscarried. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is effective for the termination of pregnancy for gestations of 63 to 83 days.

Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal↗

Bacteriuria in a population sample of women: 24-year follow-up study. Results from the prospective population-based study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The aims of the study were to estimate the prevalence of bacteriuria in a female urban population, to follow up the same population over the years, and to relate bacteriuria to long-term prognosis with respect to mortality and kidney disease. The study was based on a randomly selected population sample comprising 1462 women aged 38-60 years at entrance to the study in 1968-69 with an initial participation rate of 90.1%. Bacteriuria was observed in 3-5%, increasing with age, and most often asymptomatic. Bacteriuria on one occasion meant increased risk of having bacteriuria 6 and 12 years later. The percentages of different types of bacteria and the resistance pattern were similar initially and at follow-up studies after 6 and 12 years. There were no differences in mortality or incidence of severe kidney disease during a 24-year follow-up between those with and those without bacteriuria in the baseline study.

Adult↗

Digitalis-like factor and digoxin-like immunoreactive factor in diabetic women with preeclampsia, transient hypertension of pregnancy, and normotensive pregnancy.

An endogenous sodium pump inhibitor, or digitalis-like factor (DLF), has been postulated to mediate essential hypertension. It may also play a role in preeclampsia. However, studies of this factor in hypertensive pregnancy have not provided consistent findings. Part of this may be due to the absence of subclassification of pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) when assessing these parameters. In this study we explored serum DLF and digoxin-like immunoreactive factor (DLIF) in insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) women with normotensive pregnancies or PIH, comparing them to each other and to nondiabetic pregnant women. Our results demonstrated that nondiabetic women with preeclampsia (PE, PIH with proteinuria) had significantly increased serum DLF and DLIF compared to normotensive pregnant women (NL BP). Women with transient hypertension of pregnancy (THP, PIH without proteinuria) had intermediate values (DLF. NL BP: 3.3 +/- 0.6, THP: 4.8 +/- 1.1, PE: 7.6 +/- 1.3% inhibition [Na,K]-ATPase, P < .05 ANOVA; DLIF. NL BP: 0.22 +/- 0.02, THP: 0.28 +/- 0.03, PE: 0.35 +/- 0.02 ng digoxin equivalents/mL, P < .05 ANOVA). Pregnant normotensive IDDM women had significantly higher serum DLF and DLIF activity than their nondiabetic counterparts (DLF. non-IDDM NL BP: 3.3 +/- 0.6 v IDDM NL BP: 8.8 +/- 1.2% inhibition [Na,K]-ATPase, P = .0008; DLIF. non-IDDM NL BP: 0.22 +/- 0.02 v IDDM NL BP: 0.31 +/- 0.02 ng digoxin equivalents/mL, P = .005).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Virulence characteristics of Escherichia coli in relation to host response in men with symptomatic urinary tract infection.

To assess virulence properties in uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from men with symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI), we analyzed 88 urinary isolates from men with acute pyelonephritis (n = 41), febrile UTI without clinical signs of renal infection (n = 33), or acute cystitis (n = 14) for O:K:H serotype, P fimbriae, and production of hemolysin and aerobactin. In the three diagnostic groups, 88%, 67%, and 79% of the strains, respectively, were represented by 10 O antigen groups commonly associated with acute pyelonephritis in women and children. Fifty-eight different O:K:H serotypes could be identified, of which O18ac:K5:H- predominated (n = 8). There was a higher frequency of hemolytic strains among patients with pyelonephritis (73%) and febrile UTI (76%) and a lower frequency of P-fimbriated strains (56% and 45%, respectively) and aerobactin-positive strains (51% and 39%, respectively) among these patients than was previously encountered in women and children with uncomplicated acute pyelonephritis. The distribution of bacterial properties was unrelated to patient age and underlying complicating factors. The findings suggest differences in host-parasite relationships between men and women with symptomatic UTI caused by E. coli.

Adult↗

Unexplained increase in serum digoxin: a case report.

We describe a patient with unexpectedly high serum digoxin after cardiac surgery. To control atrial fibrillation in the immediate postoperative period, she was given a brief trial of digoxin (four 0.25-mg doses) over 12 h. Serum digoxin 6 h later was 2.5 micrograms/L. Two days later, the patient developed ventricular fibrillation, which progressed to cardiac arrest. During or immediately after resuscitation, blood was drawn for a digoxin measurement, and the concentration reported was 9.3 micrograms/L; this result was verified by repeated analysis. Digoxin decreased rapidly and progressively to near 4.0 micrograms/L over the next several hours and thereafter decreased slowly to 1.0 microgram/L over the next 11 days, despite no digoxin being administered. The unexpectedly high digoxin raised questions about the accuracy of the digoxin measurement, particularly about the possible influence of the digoxin-like immunoreactive factor. Analytical approaches to distinguishing true digoxin from this factor and other artifacts of digoxin measurement were applied to this patient, with unanticipated results.

Aged↗

Lack of association between hemolysin production and acute inflammation in human urinary tract infection.

Hemolysins are cytolytic proteins which have been extensively characterized at the molecular level, however, their in vivo functions remain unclear. This study analyzed the association of hemolysin production with the inflammatory response in patients with urinary tract infection (UTI). Infants and children with their first episode of UTI (n = 644) were followed prospectively. The body temperature, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), urinary leucocyte count and renal concentrating capacity were used as measures of the inflammatory response. The hemolytic genotype (hly) of the Escherichia coli strain from each UTI episode was defined by DNA-DNA hybridization, and the phenotype by hemolysis in blood agar. There was no significant increase in the level of fever, CRP, ESR, or decrease in renal concentrating capacity during UTI episodes caused by hly positive compared to hly negative E. coli. Multiple regression analysis did not demonstrate significant associations of hly with elevated fever, CRP, ESR or reduced renal concentrating capacity. In contrast, patients infected with P fimbriated E. coli strains had higher fever, CRP, ESR and lower renal concentrating capacity than those infected with other strains. This association was not influenced by the hly genotype of the P fimbriated strains. The frequency of hly+ strains was not significantly higher in the subset of patients assigned a diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis compared to asymptomatic bacteriuria. This was in contrast to P fimbriae, which were accumulated in acute pyelonephritis. The results suggested that the acute inflammatory response to E. coli UTI is independent of hemolysin production. The inflammatogenic potential of uropathogenic E. coli clones was better described by the presence or absence of P-fimbriae than by hemolysin.

Child, Preschool↗

Staphylococcus saprophyticus urinary tract infections in children.

Staphylococcus saprophyticus commonly causes urinary tract infection (UTI) in young women; in males it is found mainly in the elderly. In this study S. saprophyticus UTI occurred in 59 children (45 girls and 14 boys) below 16 years of age, of whom 20 were less than 13 years of age. The common presentation was dysuria and flank or back pain whereas fever > or = 38.5 degrees C was rare. Radiological investigation performed in 63% of the children revealed no anomalies of importance. Children with S. saprophyticus UTI appear to constitute a group with a low frequency of urinary tract anomalies and with a low risk of UTI caused by other bacteria.

Adolescent↗

Sexual acquisition of acute pyelonephritis in a man.

A 51-year-old man presented with acute cystitis at a time when his wife was admitted with symptoms of acute pyelonephritis. Before the man developed his symptoms his wife had complained of urinary frequency and dysuria for a 2-week period. Two weeks after a 10-day course with trimethoprim he experienced a relapse manifesting as acute febrile pyelonephritis. The strains of Escherichia coli isolated from the urine of both patients belonged to the same serotype O51, O117:K1, were non-haemolytic, produced aerobactin, expressed P-fimbriae, and showed identical antibiotic susceptibility pattern. The findings strongly suggest that the E. coli strain might have been sexually transmitted from the wife to her husband.

Cystitis↗

Relationship between urease-producing bacteria, urinary pH and encrustation on indwelling urinary catheters.

In 11 patients with long-term indwelling catheters the amount of catheter encrustation and urinary pH were measured and the urine regularly cultured over a prolonged period of time (median of 7 periods of 3 weeks). The mean urinary pH was related to the persistent presence of urease-producing micro-organisms (P. mirabilis) and urinary pH governed the precipitation of catheter encrustation. The critical pH appeared to be around 6.8. In patients with a mean urinary pH below this level the encrustation was minute (less than or equal to 2.9 mg phosphate). In patients with a mean urinary pH above 6.8 it was considerable but with a marked interindividual variation (35.5-138.7 mg phosphate). The composition of the encrustation was also strongly pH-related, with a much higher proportion present as magnesium ammonium phosphate in patients with a mean urinary pH above 6.8. The persistent presence of urease producers was not associated with a high pH or a more pronounced precipitation of phosphate in all patients. The amount of encrustation thus appears to depend not only on the presence of urease-producing micro-organisms but also on individual factors such as urinary composition.

Aged↗

Persistence of Escherichia coli bacteriuria is not determined by bacterial adherence.

The role of bacterial adherence in the persistence of bacteria in the human urinary tract was analyzed. Women with chronic symptomatic urinary tract infections were subjected to deliberate colonization with nonvirulent Escherichia coli, after eradication of their current infections. E. coli organisms were instilled into the bladder through a catheter. The strain used for colonization, E. coli 83972, was isolated from a patient with stable bacteriuria. It lacked expressed adherence factors and did not belong to the uropathogenic O:K:H serotypes. Strain 83972 was transformed with the pap and pil DNA sequences encoding Gal alpha 1-4Gal beta- and mannose-specific (type 1) adhesins. Patients were colonized with a mixture of the wild-type and the transformed strains. E. coli 83972 caused stable bacteriuria for greater than 30 days in 7 of 12 individuals. In contrast, the Gal alpha 1-4 Gal beta-recognizing or mannose-binding transformants were eliminated within 48 h. The consistent superiority of the wild-type strain in establishing stable bacteriuria when compared with the adhesive transformants did not appear to be due to differences in growth rates or to plasmid segregation. Rather, the transformants expressing the adhesin determinants were selectively eliminated by the host. This suggested that the acquisition of adherence factors is not sufficient to increase the fitness of E. coli for survival in the urinary tract of humans.

Adult↗

Randomised double-blind study of norfloxacin and cefadroxil in the treatment of acute pyelonephritis.

In a coordinated, double-blind multi-centre trial, adults with symptoms of acute pyelonephritis were randomly assigned to receive a two-week course of oral treatment with either 400 mg norfloxacin twice daily or 1 g cefadroxil twice daily. Of 197 patients enrolled in the study, 140 could be evaluated for drug efficacy and 193 for drug safety. Norfloxacin gave a significantly higher bacteriological cure rate than cefadroxil, both at 3 to 10 days (98% versus 65%; p less than 0.0001; 95% confidence interval (CI) for difference in proportions 21-46%) and up to eight weeks (87% versus 48%; p less than 0.0001; 95% CI 25-54%) after cessation of treatment. The differences between the two regimens were most pronounced in men and in patients with complicating factors such as diabetes mellitus and urinary tract abnormalities. The clinical response during treatment did not differ between the two groups, but symptomatic recurrences at follow-up were more common in the cefadroxil group (28% versus 3%; p less than 0.0001; 95% CI 14-36%). Adverse events were more often reported by patients receiving cefadroxil (39% versus 22%; p = 0.011; 95% CI 4-30%) and consisted mainly of gastrointestinal disturbances and vulvo-vaginitis. In terms of bacteriological and clinical efficacy and safety, a two-week course of norfloxacin was superior to a two-week course of cefadroxil for oral treatment of community-acquired acute pyelonephritis.

Acute Disease↗

Untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria in girls: II--Effect of phenoxymethylpenicillin and erythromycin given for intercurrent infections.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of phenoxymethylpenicillin and erythromycin on urinary isolates from patients with untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria. DESIGN: Retrospective study of subgroup of patients from cohort followed up till the end of 1986. SETTING: Outpatient clinic for children with urinary tract infections. PATIENTS: 51 Girls aged under 15 with untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria. INTERVENTIONS: Before 1982 intercurrent infections (mostly tonsillitis or otitis) were treated with phenoxymethylpenicillin; after 1982 erythromycin treatment was preferred. END POINTS: Change of bacterial strain in urinary tract and symptomatic recurrences of disease. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Bacteria identified by serotype and electrophoretic type and compared before and after antibiotic treatment. Bacteriuria eradicated and replaced by new strains in most patients treated with phenoxymethylpenicillin, leading to symptomatic recurrences in about 15%. Conversely, patients given erythromycin rarely showed change in bacteriuria and none suffered symptomatic recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: In girls with untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria the use of phenoxymethylpenicillin for intercurrent infections may lead to a change of urinary bacteria and leave them at substantial risk of acute pyelonephritis. With erythromycin this risk is small (2/20 courses in this series).

Adolescent↗

Bacteriuria in pregnancy. Frequency and risk of acquisition.

A total of 3,254 pregnant women attending two antenatal clinics in Göteborg, Sweden, were screened for bacteriuria. The coverage of the pregnant population in the areas served by the two clinics was estimated to be 88%. Of the women who were registered at the two clinics, 99% took part in at least one screening; 71% were screened during each of the three intervals. The high frequency of screening of the women made it possible to estimate the risk of acquiring bacteriuria during pregnancy. This risk increased with the duration of pregnancy from 0.8% of bacteriuric women in the 12th gestational week to 1.93% at the end of pregnancy. The risk of onset of bacteriuria was highest between the ninth and 17th gestational weeks. The 16th gestational week was the optimal time for a single screening for bacteriuria calculated as the number of bacteriuria-free gestational weeks gained by treatment.

Adult↗

Bacteriuria in representative population samples of persons aged 72-79 years.

Screening for bacteriuria was performed between 1984 and 1988 in persons aged 72-79 years representative of the general population in Göteborg, Sweden. The frequency of bacteriuria (greater than or equal to 10(5)/ml) at a single screening was 6% and 16% at age 72 years and 6% and 14% at age 79 years for the screened men (n = 235 and 259) and women (n = 259 and 297), respectively. By repeated screening after one month and 30 months of those previously negative at age 72 years, an additional 4% and 3% of men and 3% and 7% of women with bacteriuria were detected. Bacteriuric persons were excluded from further screening and controlled by frequent cultures during several years, with careful monitoring of clinical interventions. The persistence of untreated bacteriuria was analyzed in relation to bacterial species and number in the untreated subgroup of bacteriuric individuals. Nine of 10 Escherichia coli (E. coli) with less than 10(6)/ml and 22/22 non-E. coli strains disappeared spontaneously. In contrast, 20/26 (77%, p less than 0.01) with greater than or equal to 10(6) E. coli/ml persisted. Of 17 persons with bacteriuria persisting at least 12 months, 16 were women and 16 had E. coli. Of 201 E. coli cultures obtained from this group, 94% had greater than or equal to 10(6)/ml, and 99% had greater than or equal to 5 x 10(5)/ml. The results indicate that screening for high counts (greater than 10(6)/ml) of E. coli most effectively detects persisting bacteriuria in the general elderly population.

Aged↗

Bacterial virulence and inflammatory response in infants with febrile urinary tract infection or screening bacteriuria.

Two populations were analyzed prospectively after a first episode of urinary tract infection. Asymptomatic infants were screened at 2 weeks and at 3 and 10 months of age, and bacteriuria was confirmed by bladder puncture. Infants with febrile urinary tract infection were enrolled during the same study period. The inflammatory response was characterized by the presence of fever, serum C-reactive protein, microsedimentation rate, urinary leukocyte excretion, and width of the ureters. The bacteria were defined for O:K:H serotype, hemolysin production, resistance to the bactericidal effect of serum, attachment to uroepithelial cells, and specificity for the globoseries of glycolipid receptors. In agreement with previous studies, the frequency of increased inflammatory signs and of attaching Escherichia coli was significantly higher in infants with febrile urinary tract infection than in the screening group. Within both patient groups, however, children infected with attaching E. coli strains had significantly more inflammatory signs. The results suggest that adherence facilitates the presentation of bacterial components capable of causing inflammation in the tissues in the urinary tract.

Blood Sedimentation↗