PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M R Bibler

Publications and source records attributed to M R Bibler.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Prolonged cutaneous herpes zoster in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

We described the development of prolonged disseminated cutaneous herpes zoster in two patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Both patients developed hyperkeratotic, verrucous lesions that progressed despite acyclovir therapy. The biopsy specimens were typical of herpes infection. The development of acyclovir-resistant varicella-zoster virus during therapy was suspected clinically in the first patient and documented in vitro in the second patient. The inability to mount an effective cell-mediated immune response contributed to the prolonged course of cutaneous zoster in our patients. The hyperkeratotic nature of the skin lesions may reflect their chronic nature. Treatment with inadequate doses of acyclovir, allowing viral persistence and the selection of resistant strains of virus, may also be implicated. We recommend prolonged high-dose intravenous acyclovir therapy in the initial management of herpes zoster in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to pentamidine-induced cardiotoxicity.

Although pentamidine isethionate is effective in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, it frequently causes serious adverse reactions. We report a case of reversible pentamidine-induced cardiotoxicity, characterized electrocardiographically by prolongation of the QT interval, T-wave inversion, and electrical alternans of the U-wave. In addition, the patient had repeated episodes of ventricular tachycardia that culminated in torsades de pointes. Our case re-emphasizes the need for close patient monitoring during pentamidine therapy.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Clinical evaluation of efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and safety of teicoplanin for serious gram-positive infections.

Nineteen patients hospitalized for serious gram-positive infections were treated with teicoplanin, a new glycopeptide antibiotic. A variety of infections were treated, including endocarditis, septic thrombophlebitis, osteomyelitis, pyogenic arthritis, and soft tissue infection. Of 13 infections that could be evaluated in 12 patients, there were 8 clinical cures, 2 improvements, 1 recurrence, and 2 failures. Of the eight patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, seven were clinically cured or improved with teicoplanin therapy. Of the nine patients in whom the bacteriological response to treatment could be fully evaluated, six were cured; there was recurrence of infection in one, and treatment failed in two patients. In vitro testing showed the 13 bacterial isolates (9 S. aureus, 3 S. epidermidis, and 1 group B streptococcus) to be uniformly susceptible to teicoplanin, with MICs ranging from 0.12 to 0.5 microgram/ml. Every isolate was more susceptible in vitro to teicoplanin than to vancomycin. Three of the staphylococcal isolates were resistant to methicillin. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated that after an initial drug-accumulation period, a single daily dose adequately maintained the teicoplanin concentrations in serum within therapeutic ranges. Teicoplanin also penetrated well into synovial fluid. The drug was well tolerated by either intravenous or intramuscular administration. The most significant adverse reaction was an urticarial rash which required discontinuation of therapy in one patient; a second patient experienced a modest decrease in high-frequency auditory threshold. Asymptomatic eosinophilia and mild elevation of serum transaminases were noted as well. The results of this study suggest that teicoplanin is a safe and effective new agent for treatment of serious infections caused by gram-positive organisms.

Adult↗

Cryptogenic group A streptococcal bacteremia: experience at an urban general hospital and review of the literature.

The clinical features of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal sepsis were studied in 15 consecutive patients seen at an urban general hospital over a two-year period. Although 14 of the 15 patients had underlying disease, no patient had malignancy and none had undergone immunosuppressive therapy. Only one infection was nosocomially acquired. Mortality was 20%. Bacteremia arose from a cutaneous infection in 10 cases, from pneumonia in two, and from the urinary tract in one. Streptococcal bacteremia was unexpected in the remaining patients, two women who presented with severe abdominal pain. Unlike most other patients described in the literature, neither woman had an identifiable primary focus of infection. A review of the literature for potential sources of group A streptococcal bacteremia revealed that this pathogen is not part of the indigenous flora of the normal host at any body site.

Adolescent↗

Acute ureteral colic from an obstructing renal aspergilloma.

Fungus balls of the renal collecting system are rarely of organisms other than Candida. A case of obstructing aspergilloma associated with acute ureteral colic is presented. The clinical features of this case are characteristic of renal aspergillomas in 10 additional cases described in the literature. Ten of the 11 patients were male. Each of the patients had an underlying disease that predisposed to fungal infection. Although all 11 patients were cured, diagnostic evaluation was often protracted as commoner causes of ureteral obstruction were excluded. Successful therapy required evacuation of the obstructing hyphal mass; open surgical procedures were necessary in five instances. Systemic amphotericin B should be reserved for patients with residual infection following removal of the fungus ball. This report emphasizes the need to consider aspergilloma in the differential diagnosis of acute ureteropelvic obstruction in the appropriate patient population.

Acute Disease↗