Male infertility related to 5-ASA enemas.
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Aminosalicylic Acids↗
Biomedical subjects
L S Friedman
Publications and source records attributed to L S Friedman.
Liver transplantation.
Liver transplantation has become an established form of therapy for patients with almost any type of irreversible and severe liver disease. The remarkable success of liver transplantation has resulted from recent advances in immunosuppressive therapy, surgical techniques, and patient selection. Additional progress has been made in the management of the complex postoperative medical complications that may occur. Indeed, liver transplantation has contributed significantly to an improved quantity and quality of life for many patients with liver disease.
Adult↗
Perioperative management of fulminant and subfulminant hepatic failure with therapeutic plasmapheresis.
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Humans↗
Management of asymptomatic gallstones in the diabetic patient. A decision analysis.
The management of asymptomatic cholelithiasis in patients with diabetes is controversial. We used decision analysis to compare expectant management to prophylactic cholecystectomy in asymptomatic diabetic patients. Relevant probabilities were derived from the literature or expert opinion. Hypothetical cohorts of patients were followed for their lifetimes under each strategy. Expectant management was almost always the superior course. For example, a 30-year-old diabetic man gains an average of 6.1 months of life by choosing expectant management over prophylactic surgery. The superiority of expectant management was invariant to changes in age, sex, and the extent to which major surgical complications affect the future quality of life. Prophylactic cholecystectomy was superior only with extremely high estimates of the likelihood of developing symptomatic disease, the probability of requiring emergency surgery after symptoms develop, and emergency surgical mortality rates. However, no single factor had sufficient impact to alter the optimal decision by itself; the probabilities of several untoward events had to be increased simultaneously to favor prophylactic cholecystectomy. Prophylactic surgery for silent gallstones in diabetic patients does not increase life expectancy or quality of life and may in fact reduce it. This result holds over a wide range of basic assumptions.
Acute Disease↗
Diminished perception of inspiratory-resistive loads in insulin-dependent diabetics.
Diabetes mellitus is known to be associated with impaired perception of sensory input from organs such as the heart. To determine whether diabetics have a diminished ability to perceive respiratory sensations, we compared the abilities of patients with insulin-dependent diabetes (n = 17) and nondiabetic controls (n = 13) to detect inspiratory-resistive loads. The subjects were evaluated as they breathed through a tube-manifold apparatus with resistance that was varied randomly. They indicated whenever they perceived increased resistance to inspiration. The threshold for detecting added inspiratory resistance was expressed as a fraction of the background resistance of the subject plus that of the apparatus. This fraction, known as the Weber fraction, was 0.53 +/- 0.19 (mean +/- SD) in diabetics with neuropathy, 0.38 +/- 0.24 in diabetics without neuropathy, and 0.29 +/- 0.15 in nondiabetic controls. The differences in the mean value of the Weber fraction among the three groups were significantly different from zero (F = 4.57, P less than 0.025). There was not a significant correlation between the Weber fraction and age, degree of autonomic dysfunction, pulmonary function, cigarette smoking, or degree of diabetic control. The Weber fraction correlated with the duration of diabetes (r = 0.57, P less than 0.02). We conclude that patients with insulin-dependent diabetes may have an impaired ability to perceive inspiratory-resistive loads. This increased threshold for the perception of respiratory sensations may lead to delayed recognition of pulmonary disease in diabetics.
Adult↗
Sulfasalazine-induced abnormal sperm penetration assay reversed on changing to 5-aminosalicylic acid enemas.
Sulfasalazine, a drug used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, has been associated with male infertility, an effect attributed to sulfapyridine rather than to 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), the presumed therapeutically active component of sulfasalazine. Recently, the sperm penetration assay (SPA) has been found to be an accurate method of quantitating male fertilization potential. We report the case of a man with ulcerative colitis in whom infertility and a markedly abnormal SPA were demonstrated while he was taking sulfasalazine. Shortly after discontinuing sulfasalazine and initiating treatment with 5-ASA enemas, his SPA became normal and his wife became pregnant. The SPA is a useful screening test for sulfasalazine-induced male infertility. On the other hand, 5-ASA enemas do not appear to be associated with an abnormal SPA.
Adult↗
Surgery in the patient with liver disease.
This article deals with the effects of anesthesia and surgery on the healthy and diseased liver and the preoperative assessment of patients with liver disease. Emphasis is placed on estimating surgical risk. Guidelines for optimal preoperative preparation are discussed.
Humans↗
Evaluation of blood donors with elevated serum alanine aminotransferase levels.
We evaluated 100 asymptomatic blood donors with serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels exceeding 0.83 mu kat/L, for evidence of liver disease or risk factors for non-A, non-B hepatitis and followed serum ALT levels for another 6 months. In 92 donors completing the study, ALT elevations occurred once in 33%, intermittently in 36%, persistently in 28%. Twenty-two donors were obese, 5 had clinical and biochemical evidence of alcoholic liver disease, and 45 drank alcohol regularly; 1 had hemochromatosis, and another, myopathy. In 22 no cause for elevated serum ALT levels was found. The presence or absence of risk of acquiring hepatitis did not correlate with the pattern of ALT elevations or the identification of another cause for the elevated ALT levels. In 92 blood donors with an initially elevated ALT level, two-thirds have intermittent or persistent elevations; most approximately 20% have no apparent cause for the elevations other than possible non-A, non-B hepatitis. These findings may be helpful in counseling and following blood donors with elevated ALT levels.
Adult↗
Delta agent hepatitis.
Since its chance discovery a mere decade ago, the delta agent has been characterized as a novel pathogen that poses the risk of developing into a scourge of modern times. With its unique single-stranded circular RNA, exclusive dependence on HBV for its replication, and characteristic ability to suppress hepatitis B synthesis, the delta agent has emerged as an important global cause of fulminant hepatitis and progressive liver disease. Persons at greatest risk of delta infection are those living in endemic areas and HBsAg-carrier parenteral drug abusers, hemophiliacs, hemodialysis patients, and homosexual men in nonendemic areas. Widespread dissemination appears possible. There is as yet no known effective treatment for established delta infection, and, for the present, clinicians must concentrate on preventing HDV infection by incorporating vigorous use of the hepatitis B vaccine into strategies for preventing HBV infection.
Hepatitis D↗
5-Aminosalicylic acid enemas in refractory distal ulcerative colitis: long-term results.
In this trial, we examined the role of 4-g 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) enema in the long-term management of patients with previously refractory distal ulcerative colitis. Of 20 such patients treated with nightly 5-ASA enemas, 16 improved symptomatically, with 15 achieving clinical remission and 14 achieving sigmoidoscopic remission within 3 to 5 wk. An attempt was made to maintain clinical remission with 5-ASA enemas in these 16 by successively decreasing the frequency of administration to every other night and then every third night, as long as remission was maintained. Relapses were treated by reinstituting nightly 5-ASA enema administration followed by another attempt at tapering the frequency of administration. Follow-up has ranged from 5 to 16 months. Nine patients were rapidly tapered to every third night administration, but six relapsed. Of these six, four were brought into remission with reinitiation of nightly enemas and tapered to every three nights, whereas one ultimately required enemas every two nights for control and one required enemas nightly (with mild symptoms). Six other patients relapsed when the enemas were tapered to every two nights, and after retreatment on a nightly regimen, four could be maintained on an every third night regimen while two have required every second night administration. One patient has required nightly administration from the outset. Currently, one patient is off all medication, while eight are on an every third night, three are on an every second night, and three are on a nightly schedule. We conclude that in patients with distal ulcerative colitis refractory to conventional therapy but responsive to 5-ASA enemas, relapse is common as the frequency of 5-ASA enema administration is decreased, although some patients may be maintained on a less than nightly schedule. The optimal maintenance regimen remains to be determined.
Adolescent↗
Metoclopramide-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
The neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), an unusual idiosyncratic reaction to neuroleptic medications, may be fatal if unrecognized. Symptoms of NMS include rigidity, hyperpyrexia, altered consciousness, and autonomic instability. This syndrome is generally associated with neuroleptic medications used to treat psychotic and major depressive illnesses. We describe two diabetic patients at our institution who developed NMS in association with antiemetic metoclopramide hydrochloride.
Adult↗
Recent developments in viral hepatitis.
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Hepatitis A↗
5-Aminosalicylic acid enemas in refractory distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized, controlled trial.
5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), the presumed active moiety of sulfasalazine, has shown clinical efficacy when administered per rectum as initial therapy to patients with distal ulcerative colitis. We report the results of a randomized double-blind trial comparing nightly retention of a 4-g 5-ASA enema with continued administration of hydrocortisone enemas in 18 patients with persistent active distal ulcerative colitis after at least a 3-wk course of treatment with 100-mg hydrocortisone enemas with or without oral sulfasalazine. Continuation of hydrocortisone enemas rather than placebo was used in the control group to reflect the realistic alternative therapy likely to be employed in current practice. Response to therapy was assessed after 3 wk by comparing pretreatment and posttreatment point scores of clinical, sigmoidoscopic, and histological severity. Improvement in clinical score was achieved in seven of nine 5-ASA enema-treated patients versus one of nine hydrocortisone enema-treated patients (p less than 0.05). Sigmoidoscopic and histological improvement generally paralleled clinical improvement. We conclude that in patients with distal ulcerative colitis unresponsive to standard therapy, treatment with 5-ASA enemas results in significant short-term clinical and sigmoidoscopic improvement in a majority of cases. Moreover, a significantly greater number of refractory patients improve when switched to 5-ASA enemas than when continued on standard therapy.
Adult↗
Revisiting the Holy Cross football team hepatitis outbreak (1969) by serological analysis.
Clinical and biochemical data collected during the Holy Cross College football team hepatitis A outbreak in 1969 suggested that 32 team members had icteric hepatitis, 58 had anicteric illness, and only seven were not infected. Using a currently available radioimmunoassay, we tested stored serum samples obtained during the outbreak for IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus (IgM anti-HAV). Only individuals with icteric hepatitis were found to have IgM anti-HAV in serum; those with presumed anicteric illness were shown not to be infected with hepatitis A virus. The attack rate was thus only 34%, not 93% as originally reported, and the incidence of icteric illness in those infected was 100%, not 33%. This serological analysis of a classic outbreak of hepatitis A illustrates the utility and importance of IgM anti-HAV testing in seroepidemiologic investigations of hepatitis outbreaks.
Alanine Transaminase↗
Anaphylactic reaction and cardiopulmonary arrest following intravenous cyclosporine.
Cyclosporine, a new immunosuppressive agent useful in recipients of a variety of organ transplants, has been associated with a number of adverse effects, most notably nephrotoxicity. This report describes a woman about to undergo liver transplantation in whom intravenous administration of cyclosporine was associated with an apparent anaphylactic reaction resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest. Similar reactions have thus far not been reported after oral administration of cyclosporine. Intravenous cyclosporine must be administered under close supervision and should be avoided in any patients with a history of prior allergic reactions to the drug or to a component of its intravenous formulation.
Adult↗
Smoking onset among teens: an empirical analysis of initial situations.
This study attempted to identify factors associated with smoking onset among teens. It was hypothesized that initial cigarette smoking is largely prompted by peers, and that these prompts and subsequent social reinforcement may account for smoking participation. An in-depth structured interview investigating the first three smoking or smoking pressure experiences was conducted with 157 teens, including persistent experimental smokers (who smoked more than 10 cigarettes), minimal experimental smokers (who smoked less than 10 cigarettes), and nonsmokers. Analyses confirmed that prompting by peers is characteristic of a large majority of smoking onset situations. Initial situations are much more likely to involve others of the same sex. In roughly half of the incidents another young person was trying a cigarette for the first time. Persistent experimenters, when compared with minimal experimenters, were exposed to significantly more influences to smoke. These influences included modeling and social encouragement. Additional data suggested that persistent experimenters were more primed to smoke than minimal experimenters. For example, they had engaged in more premeditation, accepted offers to smoke with less hesitation, and inhaled more frequently. Also, pleasant emotional and physiological effects discriminated continuers from quitters. Nonsmokers appeared to possess more effective response strategies to refuse cigarettes. Implications of these data for prevention program design are discussed.
Adolescent↗
Relapsing acute pancreatitis as the presenting manifestation of an ampullary neoplasm in a patient with familial polyposis coli.
The incidence of periampullary carcinoma is increased in patients with familial polyposis coli or the Gardner syndrome. Patients with familial polyposis coli and ampullary tumors usually present with obstructive jaundice or abdominal pain. We report the case of a 41-year-old woman with the Gardner syndrome in whom relapsing acute pancreatitis was the presenting manifestation of an ampullary neoplasm. A diagnosis of ampullary neoplasm should be considered in any patient with familial polyposis coli or the Gardner syndrome and pancreatitis, even in cases of relapsing acute pancreatitis.
Acute Disease↗
Chewing tobacco use by adolescents: prevalence and relation to cigarette smoking.
The prevalence of teenage smokeless tobacco use and its relation to cigarette smoking was studied. Nine percent of 7th grade boys and 20% of 9th and 10th grade boys reported daily use. There was very little regular chewing among girls although about 20% reported having tried it. There was a strong association between smoking and chewing among 7th graders but only a weak association among 9th and 10th graders. Boys who chew tended to have friends who chew and/or smoke. The data suggested that chewing is affected by peer social influence processes in a manner similar to smoking.
Adolescent↗