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Biomedical subjects

P K Goldberg

Publications and source records attributed to P K Goldberg.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Diagnosis of systemic or visceral candidosis.

Although systemic or visceral candidosis can be diagnosed during life, it is usually discovered at autopsy. Early diagnosis is important since treatment with specific antifungal drugs is effective. The diagnosis should rest on all available clinical and laboratory evidence. Mucocutaneous lesions and chorioretinitis are important clinical findings in the presence of predisposing illness and iatrogenic factors. Repeatedly positive blood cultures for Candida in the absence of an indwelling intravenous line and Candida colony counts of 10 000/ml or greater in urine freshly obtained by catheter in the absence of an indwelling Foley catheter are very significant. Similarly significant is recovery of Candida from closed spaces (pleural, peritoneal, joint or subarachnoid). The agar gel diffusion test for Candida antibodies has a sensitivity and specificity of 85% or greater and can confirm the diagnosis in otherwise doubtful cases. The various antibody tests for Candida are not suitable for random screening because of the low prevalence of visceral or systemic candidosis in the general population.

Adult↗

Endotoxemia and hyperbilirubinemia in the neonate.

One hundred twenty-five neonates with varying serum bilirubin levels were tested for endotoxin by the limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test. Neither infection nor hemolytic disease was a contributing factor to the bilirubin levels. As the serum bilirubin level rose, positive LAL tests increased in frequency until the LAL test attained 100% at a level of 13 mg/dL. Bilirubin at different concentrations did not elicit positive LAL tests in plasma or normal saline in vitro. The LAL test was positive in urine obtained by suprapubic aspiration in 50% of neonates with positive serum LAL tests. Although bilirubin and endotoxin are cleared independently by hepatic cells with different functions, a striking relationship is evident between the endotoxin and bilirubin levels in the neonate. Immaturity of physiological liver functions in the neonate plays an important role. The LAL test cannot be used as an indicator of Gram-negative sepsis in neonates with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia.

Bilirubin↗

Incidence and significance of candiduria.

The 100,000 colony count has been used without careful evaluation for the diagnosis of renal candidiasis. Therefore, a prospective study was done on 1,004 urine samples from patients without signs of candidiasis to determine the incidence of candiduria and Candida colony counts. These were compared with colony counts from histologically proved cases of renal candidiasis. The incidence of candiduria varied from a low of 4% in men to a high of 39% in girls during their second week of antibiotic therapy. The overall mean colony count was 1,292 +/- 1,500. The mean colony count in clean-catch urine specimens from six proved cases of renal candidiasis was 23,750 +/- 12,311. The difference in colony counts from proved and unproved cases is statistically significant. Counts greater than 10,000 Candida organisms per milliliter require further investigation.

Adult↗

Advances in the diagnosis of renal candidiasis.

Candiduria may signify benign saprophytic colonization or true infection of the urinary tract. Histological studies of 64 suspect cases of renal candidiasis, 20 of them positive, suggest that a Candida colony count of 10,000 to 15,000 per ml. or more in a catheterized specimen is a useful cut-off point between infection and colonization. One to 3 Candida per high power field in an uncentrifuged urine specimen equated with a colony count of 10,000 to 15,000 Candida per ml. Colony counts were diagnostically invalid in the presence of an indwelling Foley catheter. Other diagnostic aids included positive serum precipitin tests (83%) and positive blood cultures (47%).

Adult↗

Efficiency of serologic tests in the diagnosis of systemic candidiasis.

Candida antibody tests for systemic candidiasis were conducted on 53 sera from patients with the disease and 170 sera from control patients by agar gel diffusion, counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE), latex agglutination, and whole-cell agglutination. The agar gel diffusion test and CIE had sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of approximately 90%. The whole-cell agglutination test scored significantly lower, whereas the latex test scored in between. The agar gel diffusion test had the highest reproducibility and the whole-cell agglutination test the lowest in tests of identical sera by six independent laboratories. The agar gel diffusion and CIE tests make significant contributions to the diagnosis of systemic candidiasis.

Agglutination Tests↗

Endotoxin and bacteria in portal blood.

In order to determine whether endotoxin is normally found in the portal system, intraoperative samples of portal and peripheral blood were drawn from 34 consecutive elective abdominal surgery patients. The limulus lysate test was used to detect endotoxin. Ninety-seven per cent of patients had a positive limulus test in portal blood. Twelve of these patients were tested for portal bacteremia and only one showed growth. Four patients also had systemic endotoxemia. Three of these had liver disease and one had a gram-negative sepsis. This study demonstrates that endotoxin is a normal constituent of portal venous blood in man and does not represent a pathological process. It is suggested that the Kupffer cells of the liver normally protect the systemic circulation from endotoxin, and that endotoxin is present in systemic blood only when liver function is impaired or gram-negative bacteremia is present.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Congenital cutaneous candidiasis.

Three newborn infants are described in whom a generalized maculopapular rash was observed at birth or soon after. The eruption rapidly became vesicular, and in one infant it became bullous, and was followed in each case by extensive desquamation. Candida albicans was demonstrated on direct smear and on culture from the skin vesicles, and evidence of an intrauterine infection with this organism was detected on histologic examination of the placenta in at least two of the cases. Agglutinating antibodies to Candida were present in the sera of all three infants, though these may have reflected transplacental passage of maternal antibody.

Candidiasis, Cutaneous↗

Candida esophagitis: a prospective study of 27 cases.

A prospective study of candida esophagitis was undertaken to determine the spectrum of this disease in a general hospital. During 1 year, in 370 consecutive endoscopies, 27 patients with Candida esophagitis were detected. The diagnosis was established by finding white plaques on endoscopy, yeast organisms on microscopic examination of a direct smear from the plaques, and a serum agglutinin titer of at least 1:160. Of these 27 patients, 14 had esophageal symptoms. Twelve patients were reendoscoped after nystatin or nystatin and flucytosine therapy. Nine patients showed absence of lesions, a negative smear, and disappearance of symptoms. Control patients had no plaques on endoscopy, no yeast organisms on microscopical examination of esophageal brushings, and a positive titer in 4 to 17% of cases. A minimal agglutinin titer of 1:160 was found in 4 to 12% of two additional groups on controls. Absence of titer precluded a diagnosis of Candida esophagitis.

Adolescent↗