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Y Avitzur

Publications and source records attributed to Y Avitzur.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Lactic dehydrogenase isoenzyme in cerebrospinal fluid of children with febrile convulsions.

AIM: To study the lactic dehydrogenase isoenzyme values in children with simple and complex febrile convulsions. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected from 115 children, 57 with simple febrile convulsions, 27 with complex febrile convulsions and 31 with no neurological or intracranial pathology (controls). Lactic dehydrogenase activity and isoenzyme levels were measured on a Hitachi analyser. RESULTS: Mean total lactic dehydrogenase activity was similar in the three groups. In the control group, lactic dehydrogenase-1 was the main fraction, followed by lactic dehydrogenase-2 and lactic dehydrogenase-3; only small percentages of lactic dehydrogenase-4 and lactic dehydrogenase-5 were detected. In the febrile convulsion group, the lactic dehydrogenase-1 fraction percentage was lower and lactic dehydrogenase-2, lactic dehydrogenase-3 percentages were higher than those in the control group; and the differences were statistically significant between the control and study groups (p < 0.01). Values of lactic dehydrogenase-4 and lactic dehydrogenase-5 were similar in all three groups. CONCLUSION: This is the first report on the lactic dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with simple and complex febrile convulsions. The important finding that focal and general febrile convulsions are not associated with cell damage and changes in aerobic and anaerobic metabolism as lactic dehydrogenase remained unchanged. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid lactic dehydrogenase isoenzyme levels can assist clinicians in differentiating febrile convulsions from clinical situations that might mimic them.

Child↗
PubMed2003

Bacterial susceptibility to oral antibiotics in community acquired urinary tract infection.

BACKGROUND: The most common oral antibiotics used in the treatment of urinary tract infection (UTI) are sulphonamides and cephalosporins, but emerging resistance is not unusual. AIMS: To assess the change in susceptibility of urinary pathogens to oral antibiotics during the past decade in children with community acquired UTI. METHODS: The study sample included two groups of children with a first community acquired UTI: 142 children enrolled in 1991 and 124 enrolled in 1999. UTI was diagnosed by properly collected urine specimen (suprapubic aspiration, transurethral catheterisation, or midstream specimen in circumcised males) in symptomatic patients. Antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The pathogens recovered in the two groups were similar: in 1991--E coli 86%, Klebsiella 6%, others 8%; in 1999--E coli 82%, Klebsiella 13%, and others 5%. A slight but generalised decrease in bacterial susceptibility to common antibiotics in the two groups was shown: ampicillin 35% versus 30%; cephalexin 82% versus 63% (p < 0.001); nitrofurantoin 93% versus 92%. The only exception was co-trimoxazole, 60% versus 69%. Overall resistance to antibiotics in 1999 was as follows: ampicillin 70%, cephalexin 37%, co-trimoxazole 31%, amoxicillin-clavulanate 24%, nitrofurantoin 8%, cefuroxime-axetil 5%, nalidixic acid 3%. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a slight but generalised decrease in bacterial susceptibility to common oral antibiotics in the past decade in our population. Empirical initial treatment with co-trimoxazole or cephalexin is inadequate in approximately one third of UTI cases. A larger number of pathogens may be empirically treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate (24% resistance); 95% of organisms are susceptible to cefuroxime-axetil.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2002

Herpetic whitlow infection in a general pediatrician--an occupational hazard.

Herpetic whitlow is a well-known occupational hazard for medical staff. It has been reported to affect mainly workers in intensive care units who come into close contact with oral secretions. We report herpetic whitlow infection in a general pediatrician in order to increase the awareness to this infectious occupational hazard that might occur in any health care worker who deals with oral secretions. A 35-year-old male general pediatrician sustained a minor knife cut in his finger and 5 days later he developed herpetic whitlow. He was treated with acyclovir with gradual improvement. We review the clinical course, complications and treatment of herpetic whitlow. The source of the infection in the present case was unknown, but it probably derived from oral secretions of children with unrecognized infection. Simple measures like wearing gloves during oral examination will avoid unnecessary morbidity in medical staff.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Clinical dysentery in hospitalized children.

BACKGROUND: Clinical dysentery is a severe presentation of an enteric infection. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of a serious bacterial etiology in clinical dysentery in hospitalized children and determine if children at high risk can be identified on the basis of clinical or laboratory parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study design was used. The study population included 60 children admitted to our department with clinical dysentery over a 16-month period. Fresh stool specimens were collected on days 1, 2 and 3. The clinical and laboratory data of the children were analyzed. RESULTS: Clinical dysentery accounted for 1.7% of all pediatric hospitalizations during this period. Stool cultures were positive for Shigella spp. in 18 children (30%), and Salmonella spp. in 15 children (25%), Campylobacter jejuni was identified in one patient (2%). There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics or laboratory parameters between children with positive and negative stool cultures. CONCLUSION: 40% of the children hospitalized for clinical dysentery were eligible for antibiotic treatment. Early administration of empiric antibiotic treatment is justified in children hospitalized for clinical dysentery in Israel. Clinical or laboratory parameters were unable to differentiate those with clinical dysentery at risk of serous bacterial pathogens in stool.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1995

Carbohydrate metabolism in primary growth hormone resistance (Laron syndrome) before and during insulin-like growth factor-I treatment.

Among 43 patients with Laron syndrome followed in our clinic, we were able to study the carbohydrate metabolism from infancy into adult age in 30 patients. During infancy, fasting blood glucose levels were in the hypoglycemic range (mean +/- SD, 3.5 +/- 1.2 mmol/L) and increased at the end of a delayed puberty to 4.6 +/- 0.6 mmol/L. Fasting plasma insulin was higher than expected for concomitant glucose levels, and several of the 20 patients who underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) had glucose intolerance and relatively high insulin levels. In adult patients, insulinopenia developed and one 38-year-old patient developed non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) with subsequent need for insulin therapy. Continuous insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) treatment of a pubertal patient with glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinemia normalized both responses. In conclusion, long-term IGF-I deficiency leads to insulin resistance, which is reversed by exogenous IGF-I administration.

Blood Glucose↗