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R Cisterna

Publications and source records attributed to R Cisterna.

157 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Distribution of HCV genotypes in patients infected by different sources.

To determine the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in our population within the Basque country, 58 HCV-infected patients were analysed. The predominant HCV genotype among subjects infected by blood transfusions (n = 9) and surgical procedures (n = 14) was 1b (88 and 50%, respectively). On the other hand, genotype 3a was the most common among intravenous drug users (n = 16), with data statistically significant (p < 0.0001). There were 18 patients (31%) with unknown risk factors, twelve of whom (66.7%) were infected with genotype 1b. Patients infected with genotype 1b were older than patients infected with genotype 3a (p < 0.0001). There existed a relationship between the HCV genotype and the source of infection.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine as a preventive treatment for Pneumocystis carinii and Toxoplasma encephalitis].

BACKGROUND: Few studies have been reported on the potential usefulness of Fansidar combination at a fixed doses of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine as prophylaxis for pneumonia by Pneumocystis carinii and toxoplasmic encephalitis. METHODS: The clinical histories of the patients seen in our department from January, 1992 to December, 1994 who were prescribed pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine for the above prophylactic treatment were reviewed. RESULTS: One hundred fifty clinical histories fulfilled the requisites for evaluation. Thirty-seven patients (24%) had a previous diagnosis of AIDS, with the median CD4 count being of 134/mm3. The median follow up of treatment with Fansidar was of 31 months. Twenty-eight cases of pneumonia by Pneumocystis carinii (6.9 cases for 100 patients-years) and 10 cases of toxoplasmic encephalitis (2.5 cases for 100 patients-years) were diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: These values are similar to those presented with respect to other pharmacologic interventions commonly used for the prevention of pneumonia by Pneumocystis carinii and toxoplasmic encephalitis and suggest that pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine is a useful alternative and requires consideration in individualized cases for the prophylaxis of these diseases.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effect of erythromycin and phosphomycin on the ingestion and destruction capacity of the human polymorphonuclear leukocyte].

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the uptake and intracellular destruction capacity of the human neutrophil. Human neutrophils from healthy individuals not receiving any therapy were incubated during 15, 90 and 180 minutes with the minimal, intermediate and maximal doses achieved in serum during treatment with therapeutic doses of these antibiotics (3, 6.45 and 9.9 micrograms/ml of erythromycin and 30, 45 and 60 micrograms/ml of phosphomycin). After this incubation, the uptake capacity and the intracellular destruction capacity of Candida guillermondii by neutrophils was assessed. Both erythromycin and phosphomycin maintained the baseline levels of both capacities in all the incubations evaluated. In addition, during the incubation with maximal dose erythromycin (15 min) a stimulatory tendency of the uptake and intracellular destruction capacity was observed.

Candida↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Bacterial pneumonia as a risk marker for new bacterial diseases in patients with HIV infection].

BACKGROUND: Bacterial pneumonias are a main cause of morbidity and mortality among patients infected by the HIV. Furthermore, recent data suggest that, under certain circumstances, they can be prognostic markers. METHODS: The evolution of a cohort of HIV-infected patients, prospectively defined by having suffered a pneumonia, was studied with regards to the occurrence of a new pneumonia or death from a bacterial disease; the evolution of a control cohort of patients matched according to sex, CD4-cell count, previous HIV-disease and zidovudine-treatment was compared to the former cohort by means of survival-analysis techniques. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients in each group were followed up for a total of 1389 and 1893 patient-months respectively. In the first group, 17 new first pneumonia episodes were diagnosed, as compared to 7 in the second group (relative-risk: 3.23, 95% confidence interval: 1.34 to 7.79, p = 0.005). Eight of the 31 deaths that occurred in the first group were attributed to a bacterial disease, as compared to none of the 24 deaths in the second group (p = 0.007, Fisher's exact test) (in five of those cases, a bacteria was isolated which was thought to be directly related to the death). CONCLUSIONS: HIV-infected patients who suffer a bacterial pneumonia have an increased risk of suffering new severe bacterial diseases (pneumonia or fatal diseases) as compared to HIV-infected patients with similar prognostic features but no previous episodes of pneumonia.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of mite growth culture phases on the biological standardization of allergenic extracts.

House dust mites are a well known cause of asthma and other respiratory allergies. In order to improve the standardization of allergenic extracts for diagnosis and immunotherapy, it is important to determine the frequency and concentration of the components, both the major and the minor allergens during the growth period of the mite population. In a previous paper we demonstrated that the laboratory cultures of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophogoides farinae exhibited three well differentiated growth phases: latency, exponential growth, and death of the culture. Biological standardization of extracts from the two mite species were carried out by skin prick tests in a group of 20 patients, using different concentrations of the extracts at the three growth phases. The patient sera were also studied by means of the RAST technique to determine the levels of specific IgE for each phase. The extracts produced from the exponential growth phase of the cultures revealed six times more relative allergenic activity in in vivo studies, and average RAST values were approximately three times higher than those extracts from latency and death phases. The reproducibility of the extract production method was assessed by comparing different batches obtained in similar conditions. The results showed batch-to-batch homogeneity allergenic activity. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that extracts obtained from cultures with the highest concentration of live mites (maximum growth phase) render the best diagnostic results in vivo and in vitro.

Adolescent↗