Burden of infection on growth failure. (1/2636)

The high prevalence of infections among children living in poor areas of developing countries impairs linear growth in these populations. Acute, invasive infections, which provoke a systemic response (e.g., dysentery and pneumonia), and chronic infections, which affect the host over a sustained period (e.g., gut helminth infections), have a substantial effect on linear growth. Such infections can diminish linear growth by affecting nutritional status. This occurs because infections may decrease food intake, impair nutrient absorption, cause direct nutrient losses, increase metabolic requirements or catabolic losses of nutrients and, possibly, impair transport of nutrients to target tissues. In addition, induction of the acute phase response and production of proinflammatory cytokines may directly affect the process of bone remodeling that is required for long bone growth. Infection of cells directly involved in bone remodeling (osteoclasts or osteoblasts) by specific viruses may also directly affect linear growth. Many interventions are possible to diminish the effect of infection on growth. Prevention of disease through sanitation, vector control, promotion of breast-feeding and vaccination is crucial. Appropriate treatment of infections (e.g., antibiotics for pneumonia) as well as supportive nutritional therapy (again including breast-feeding) during and after recovery, is also important. Targeted therapeutic interventions to decrease the prevalence of gut helminth infections may also be appropriate in areas in which such infections are widespread. Such interventions are of public health benefit not only because they reduce the incidence or severity of infections, but also because they decrease the long-term detrimental effect of malnutrition on populations.  (+info)

Time sequential chemotherapy for primary refractory or relapsed adult acute myeloid leukemia: results of the phase II Gemia protocol. (2/2636)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: High-dose cytarabine (HDAra-C), mitoxantrone and etoposide are the mainstay of several active regimens against relapsed or refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). We designed a phase II study to assess the efficacy and side effects of a time sequential application of mitoxantrone plus intermediate-dose Ara-C followed by HDAra-C plus etoposide (GEMIA) in adult patients with refractory or relapsed AML. DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with refractory or relapsed AML were eligible for GEMIA salvage therapy, which comprised mitoxantrone 12 mg/m2/day on days 1-3, Ara-C 500 mg/m2/day as a 24-hour continuous infusion on days 1-3, followed by HDAra-C 2 g/m2/12-hourly on days 6-8 and etoposide 100 mg/m2/12-hourly on days 6-8. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was started on day 14. In patients above the age of 55 the dose of Ara-C in the first sequence (days 1-3) was reduced to 250 mg/m2. RESULTS: Twenty patients were included, of whom 12 achieved complete remission after GEMIA (60%, 95% CI 40-80%), one was refractory and five died early from infection. Two additional patients achieved partial remission after GEMIA and complete remission after consolidation chemotherapy, for a final CR rate of 70% (95% CI 48-88%). Neutrophils recovered at a median of 27 days (range, 22-43) and platelets 46 days (range, 25-59) after the start of treatment. The median duration of remission was 133 days (range, 36-417+) whereas overall survival time lasted for a median of 153 days (range, 13-554+). Treatment-associated toxicity was comprised predominantly of infection, mucositis and diarrhea that reached World Health Organization grades III-V in 40%, 40% and 30% of patients, respectively. Despite the intention to rapidly proceed to a hematopoietic stem cell transplant in patients in remission, only five patients reached the transplant. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: The GEMIA time sequential chemotherapy regimen appears effective in obtaining remissions in refractory and relapsed adult AML. The high toxicity seen, however, suggests that its design is amenable to further improvements, especially in more elderly patients. Since remissions are short-lived, more innovative post-remission strategies are needed.  (+info)

Diagnostic approach to lymph node enlargement. (3/2636)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: How to reach the correct diagnosis of a lymph node enlargement is still a problem which strongly challenges the knowledge and experience of the clinician. Organized and specifically oriented literature on the right sequential steps and the logical criteria that should guide this diagnostic approach is still lacking. METHODS: The authors have tried to exploit available knowledge and their personal experience by correlating a large body of information regarding size, physical characteristics, anatomical location of enlarged lymph nodes, and the possible epidemiological, environmental, occupational and clinical categorization of this condition. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: It was intended that such material would have constituted the basis of a hypothetic decision-making tree, but this was impossible because of the lack of epidemiological investigation and registry data. Nevertheless, we present this preparatory work here in order to stimulate the interest of concerned readers and because of its possible direct usefulness in hematologic practice.  (+info)

Acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in hematologic complete remission. (4/2636)

The authors describe the cases of three patients affected by acute myeloid leukemia, in complete remission, who rapidly developed neurologic symptoms leading to death. Neither clinical characteristics, nor radiological or microbiological procedures, allowed an etiological diagnosis of the neurologic syndrome. Post-mortem examination of the brain showed both macroscopic and microscopic findings compatible with acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis. The difficulty in distinguishing this entity from other CNS disease-related complications (e.g. leukemia infiltration, drug toxicity, hemorrhages) should not lead to an underestimation of the true incidence of this complication. We believe that with more attention to the possibility of this complication there would probably be both a greater possibility of collecting clinical informations about the real impact of this dramatic disease and a stronger hope of finding the right treatment for it.  (+info)

Early childhood infection and atopic disorder. (5/2636)

BACKGROUND: Atopy is of complex origins but the recent rise in atopic diseases in westernized communities points to the action of important environmental effects. One candidate mechanism is the changing pattern of microbial exposure in childhood. This epidemiological study investigated the relationship between childhood infections and subsequent atopic disease, taking into account a range of social and medical variables. METHODS: A total of 1934 subjects representing a retrospective 1975-84 birth group at a family doctor practice in Oxfordshire were studied. Public health and practice records were reviewed; temporal records were made of all diagnoses of infections and their treatments, all immunisations, and diagnoses of asthma, hay fever and eczema; maternal atopy and a number of other variables were documented. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis identified three statistically significant predictors of subsequent atopic disease: maternal atopy (1.97, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.66, p < 0.0001), immunisation with whole-cell pertussis vaccine (1.76, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.23, p < 0.0001), and treatment with oral antibiotics in the first two years of life (2.07, 95% CI 1.64 to 2.60, p < 0.0001). There was no significant association found for maternal smoking, bottle feeding, sibship size, or social class. CONCLUSIONS: The prediction of atopic disease by maternal atopy mainly reflects the effect of acknowledged genetic factors. Interpretation of the prediction of atopic disorders by immunisation with wholecell pertussis vaccine and treatment with oral antibiotics needs to be very cautious because of the possibilities of confounding effects and reverse causation. However, plausible immune mechanisms are identifiable for the promotion of atopic disorders by both factors and further investigation of these association is warranted.  (+info)

Differential tumor necrosis factor alpha production in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected rhesus macaques coinfected with Mycobacterium avium. (6/2636)

Mycobacterium avium infections are the third most common opportunistic infection in patients with AIDS. Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques naturally acquire M. avium infections from the environment, and their clinical symptoms are similar to those observed in AIDS patients. We characterized concurrent infection with SIV and M. avium in monkeys on the basis of the growth of the bacteria in macrophages (Mphis) from rhesus macaques and the ability of M. avium to induce SIV replication and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) production. The simian M. avium isolate grew significantly better than did an isolate from an AIDS patient or a chicken isolate (P = .001); it induced significantly more TNF-alpha production in Mphis from SIV-positive and SIV-negative monkeys than did the isolate from an AIDS patient (P = .013). No significant increase in SIV replication was seen in the M. avium isolates, and no correlation was found between increased SIV replication and increased TNF-alpha production. In addition, Mphis from monkeys infected with M. avium during late-stage SIV disease produced less TNF-alpha when stimulated with virulent M. avium.  (+info)

Study of infectious intestinal disease in England: rates in the community, presenting to general practice, and reported to national surveillance. The Infectious Intestinal Disease Study Executive. (7/2636)

OBJECTIVE: To establish the incidence and aetiology of infectious intestinal disease in the community and presenting to general practitioners. Comparison with incidence and aetiology of cases reaching national laboratory based surveillance. DESIGN: Population based community cohort incidence study, general practice based incidence studies, and case linkage to national laboratory surveillance. SETTING: 70 general practices throughout England. PARTICIPANTS: 459 975 patients served by the practices. Community surveillance of 9776 randomly selected patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence of infectious intestinal disease in community and reported to general practice. RESULTS: 781 cases were identified in the community cohort, giving an incidence of 19.4/100 person years (95% confidence interval 18.1 to 20.8). 8770 cases presented to general practice (3.3/100 person years (2.94 to 3.75)). One case was reported to national surveillance for every 1.4 laboratory identifications, 6.2 stools sent for laboratory investigation, 23 cases presenting to general practice, and 136 community cases. The ratio of cases in the community to cases reaching national surveillance was lower for bacterial pathogens (salmonella 3.2:1, campylobacter 7.6:1) than for viruses (rotavirus 35:1, small round structured viruses 1562:1). There were many cases for which no organism was identified. CONCLUSIONS: Infectious intestinal disease occurs in 1 in 5 people each year, of whom 1 in 6 presents to a general practitioner. The proportion of cases not recorded by national laboratory surveillance is large and varies widely by microorganism. Ways of supplementing the national laboratory surveillance system for infectious intestinal diseases should be considered.  (+info)

Clinical and scientific importance of source control in abdominal infections: summary of a symposium. (8/2636)

In May 1997, a panel of surgeon-investigators met to discuss the clinical importance and research implications of controlling the source of abdominal infections. It was concluded that source control is critical to therapeutic success and that antimicrobial therapy and other adjunctive interventions will fail if the source of infection is not controlled by resection, exteriorization or other means. The panelists presented different definitions of source control, depending on the scientific purpose of the definition. All participants agreed that failure to consider the adequacy of source control of infection has limited the value of most clinical trials of therapeutic anti-infective agents. Besides recognizing source control as an essential goal of patient care, the panelists emphasized the need for further investigative work to define, record and stratify the adequacy of source control in clinical trials of therapeutic agents for abdominal infections.  (+info)

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10