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Biomedical subjects

P Murtagh

Publications and source records attributed to P Murtagh.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Acute lower respiratory infection in Argentinian children: a 40 month clinical and epidemiological study.

In a total of 1,003 children (805 inpatients and 198 outpatients) with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI), clinical, social, and environmental data were analyzed. The major clinical entities were bronchiolitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, and laryngitis. The first two of these predominated in inpatients; pneumonia and bronchitis were more common in older children, while bronchiolitis was observed in infants. Respiratory rates of > 50/min. were more common in younger children and in cases with bronchiolitis and bronchitis. Retractions showed markedly less age-dependent variations and were present in all severe cases with different clinical diagnoses. Retractions alone or associated with cyanosis were the best indicators for severity of ALRI. Among outpatients, fever and wheezing were more common; inpatients were younger, more frequently malnourished, and from a lower socioeconomic level; family history of chronic bronchitis, crowding, and parental smoking also prevailed in this group. Family asthma and exposure to domestic aerosols was more common among outpatients. Prematurity rate (17 and 15%) of all ALRI cases was twice that of the general pediatric population and a significant difference existed between in- and outpatients under 6 months of age when perinatal respiratory pathologies predominated among inpatients. It is suggested to consider the need for assessing personal, family, and environmental risk factors in addition to clinical signs and symptoms when severe cases of ALRI are evaluated.

Acute Disease↗

A new genome type of adenovirus 3 associated with severe lower acute respiratory infection in children.

Adenovirus 3 was found associated with ten cases of infantile lower acute respiratory infection in patients aged 2-18 months. Of these, five had a fatal outcome, with severe lung damage. Restriction enzyme analysis with Bam HI, Bcl I, Bgl II, Bst E II, Hind III, Sal I, Sma I, Xba I, and Xho I revealed the presence of the same genome type in all ten specimens. The genomic variant was different from those previously reported for serotype 3 and therefore was tentatively denominated 3f.

Acute Disease↗

Are you in control?

Overcramped conditions and lack of available storage space are usually the instigating factors for implementation of a micrographics system, but there are many other benefits to be gained, It is critical that a system be well planned and carefully researched to assure that you are indeed in control. If your only goal is to microfilm records to make more space, this space will also be "jammed" within a short period of time and you will have accomplished nothing. A good micrographics system can, and should, improve the integrity of the records, in addition to saving space. It should and will provide control of the records, while at the same time making the information readily available to all users. The system can be combined with an existing computer system within the facility and/or be shared with other departments. An ill-planned micrographics system will ultimately lead to one that is neither cost-effective nor efficient.

Hospital Departments↗

Epidemiologic risk factors for children with acute lower respiratory tract infection in Buenos Aires, Argentina: a matched case-control study.

The risk factors that predisposed 516 hospitalized and 154 ambulatory patients to acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) are examined in a matched case-control study. The control group was selected from children attending immunization and well-baby clinics at the same institution that was treating the children with ALRI. Sex, age, nutritional status, socioeconomic level, as well as season and place of residence were used as matching criteria. Because of their distinct profiles, hospitalized and outpatient groups were analyzed separately. However, the four variables with the highest odds ratios (incidence ratios or relative risk) were found to be the same for both groups. These variables were related to the host's condition (bronchial hyperreactivity, presence of persistent symptoms of the upper respiratory tract), family (presence of acute respiratory tract disease in household members), and environment (indoor contaminants).

Acute Disease↗

Etiologic, clinical, and pathologic analysis of 31 fatal cases of acute respiratory tract infection in Argentinian children under 5 years of age.

During a 3-year survey of 805 children with acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) who were admitted to three hospitals in Buenos Aires, 31 fatal cases were recorded--a fatality rate of 3.8%. Of the 31 children who died, 77% were less than 1 year of age, 48% were boys, 58% were malnourished, 29% had previous respiratory disease, and 22% had previous congenital disease. All children who died had clinical diagnoses of pneumonia (71%) or bronchiolitis (29%). Autopsies were performed in 14 of the cases. Viral etiology was determined by both cell culture and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay of either nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) or lung tissue and bacterial etiology was determined by isolation of organisms from blood, lung tissue, and/or pleural fluid. NPA was examined for Bordetella pertussis by IIF. Pathogens were identified in 65% of fatal cases. Seven cases were bacterial; seven cases were viral; and six cases resulted from mixed infections. Lung tissue yielded positive etiologic results in 10 of 13 cases. Histopathologic examination performed on specimens from the 14 autopsied children revealed necrotizing bronchiolitis with intranuclear inclusions (n = 5) and multifocal pneumonia (n = 9).

Acute Disease↗

Etiologic and clinical evaluation of acute lower respiratory tract infections in young Argentinian children: an overview.

This paper summarizes the first study on clinical, etiologic, and epidemiologic features of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) in children in Argentina. A total of 1,003 children less than 5 years of age (805 inpatients and 198 outpatients) presenting with ALRI were studied during a 40-month period. Nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA), blood, urine, and throat-swab samples were collected when each child was first seen for care. Virologic studies were performed on the NPA by means of indirect immunofluorescence and isolation of virus in cell culture. Bacteriologic studies primarily were done by means of culture of blood or pleural fluid (when available); Bordetella pertussis and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, however, were searched for by the use of immunofluorescence and complement-fixation testing, respectively, in paired sera. Respiratory syncytial virus was the most commonly isolated virus, followed by adenovirus, parainfluenza virus, and influenza virus. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most frequently isolated bacterium, followed by B. pertussis and Haemophilus influenzae type b. Overall, the patient fatality rate was 3.8% among inpatients with pneumonia or bronchiolitis.

Acute Disease↗

Comparison between parental report and results of microbiologic agar assay for presence of antibiotic in urine of Argentinian children with acute lower respiratory tract infection.

This study compares two sources of information on prior use of antibiotics in children with acute lower respiratory tract infection. The presence of antibiotics in respiratory specimens complicates recovery of bacterial pathogens and the selection of appropriate antibiotic treatment. The first source of information is the parents, who are asked about recent use of antibiotics by their child. The second source is an agar diffusion assay that detects antibiotics in urine specimens. In Argentina, where antibiotics are readily available without prescription, parental information about a child's recent antibiotic therapy was found to be relatively reliable only when their answer was affirmative.

Adult↗

Adenovirus type 7h respiratory infections: a report of 29 cases of acute lower respiratory disease.

Twenty-nine cases of pediatric acute lower respiratory disease associated with adenovirus genome type 7h were evaluated retrospectively. They constituted 2.4% of 1233 cases of acute respiratory infections treated in five hospitals in Buenos Aires, between September 1984 and September 1988. Pneumonia and bronchiolitis were the principal diagnoses. The mean age of patients was 8.8 months and 82.7% of the children were less than one year of age. None of the patients had previously been exposed to measles or was immunocompromised. A mixed infection, viral or bacterial, was demonstrated in 8 of the 29 patients. Sixteen children developed a severe pulmonary disease which required intensive care. Ten with a clinical diagnosis of multifocal pneumonia and necrotizing bronchiolitis died. Extrapulmonary manifestations were observed in the most severe cases. Observations suggest a possible high pathogenicity of adenovirus type 7h and emphasize the need for adequate control and case management programs.

Acute Disease↗