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Infectious Condition (infectious + condition)
Selected AbstractsAcute Juvenile Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris: A Superantigen Mediated Disease?PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2001Isabel Betlloch M.D. Juvenile acute pityriasis rubra pilaris (JAPRP) is a form of pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) with particular clinical characteristics and course. It is usually preceded by an infectious condition. We report a boy, initially thought to have Kawasaki disease, and subsequently diagnosed as having JAPRP, who made a satisfactory recovery. In this case, prior antibiotic treatment made it impossible to show the presence of any microorganism. However, the clinical characteristics of these patients and the similarities with other disorders involving the skin that are mediated by superantigens led us to think that these antigens may be involved in the development of this disease. Also, in view of the obvious differences between JAPRP and the other PRP, we suggest that, in the future this disorder may be considered a separate entity as a reactive exanthem. [source] Emphysematous cystitis: a review of 135 casesBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2007Anil A. Thomas OBJECTIVE To review recently published data on emphysematous cystitis (EC), a potentially life-threatening condition characterized by air within the bladder wall, and that most typically affects middle-aged diabetic women. METHODS All articles published in English between 1956 and 2006 were identified using a Medline search for keywords ,emphysematous cystitis', and ,cystitis emphysematosa.' Epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic, pathological and therapeutic data were evaluated, including risk factors such as the presence of diabetes mellitus or other comorbid emphysematous infections of the urinary tract. RESULTS In all, 102 published papers, including 135 cases of EC, were reviewed; the median patient age was 66 years, 64% were women and 67% had diabetes mellitus. Most cases were diagnosed using plain films of the abdomen (84%), although more recently, computed tomography was the primary imaging method. Escherichia coli was the most commonly isolated organism. Most patients were treated with medical management alone (90%), while 10% of infections were treated with a combination of medicine and surgery. The overall death rate was 7%. CONCLUSIONS EC is the most common and typically the least severe gas-forming infection of the urinary tract. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is warranted to prevent the potential morbidity and mortality of this infectious condition. [source] Procalcitonin and other markers of infection.CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 2 2002What should be their role in clinical practice? Clinicians are always faced with a decision when confronted with a febrile patient; they must decide between what is an infectious condition and what is not, and between what merits hospital observation, what requires empirical antibiotic treatment and what needs outpatient follow-up. In this respect, judgement based on medical history and physical examination outweigh the predictive value of various laboratory markers of infection, as the latter generally reflect a nonspecific reaction of the host to widely different infectious and inflammatory stimuli. In the evaluation of specific subgroups of patients, e.g. those in the intensive care unit, laboratory tests should also preferably form a continuum with medical history and physical examination, aimed at clarifying host condition, the setting and the source of a possible infection. [source] Oral biofilms, periodontitis, and pulmonary infectionsORAL DISEASES, Issue 6 2007S Paju Bacteria from the oral biofilms may be aspirated into the respiratory tract to influence the initiation and progression of systemic infectious conditions such as pneumonia. Oral bacteria, poor oral hygiene, and periodontitis seem to influence the incidence of pulmonary infections, especially nosocomial pneumonia episodes in high-risk subjects. Improved oral hygiene has been shown to reduce the occurrence of nosocomial pneumonia, both in mechanically-ventilated hospital patients and non-ventilated nursing home residents. It appears that oral colonization by potential respiratory pathogens, possibly fostered by periodontitis, and possibly by bacteria specific to the oral cavity or to periodontal diseases contribute to pulmonary infections. Thus, oral hygiene will assume an even more important role in the care of high-risk subjects , patients in the hospital intensive care and the elderly. The present paper critically reviews the recent literature on the effect of oral biofilms and periodontitis on pneumonia. [source] Parotid gland involvement in advanced AIDSORAL DISEASES, Issue 2 2003PA Vargas OBJECTIVE: ,This study describes the involvement and the histological alterations found in the parotid glands of 100 patients who died with AIDS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ,Sex, age, CD4 cell count and clinical history were obtained from the files of 100 patients who died with AIDS. Histological analysis of the parotid glands was performed using H&E, Gomori,Grocott, Ziehl,Neelsen and Mucicarmine. Histological findings were grouped in reactive, infectious, cystic, neoplastic and concomitant lesions. RESULTS: ,None of the patients presented complaints or symptoms related to salivary gland alterations prior to death. The mean age of the patients and CD4 cell count were 36.4 years and 76.07 cells ,l ,1 , respectively. Histological alterations of the parotid glands were found in 51% of the patients. The most common alteration was non-specific chronic sialadenitis (29 cases), followed by infectious conditions (22 cases). Mycobacteriosis was the most common infectious disease (10 cases), followed by cytomegalovirus (nine cases), cryptococcosis (three cases) and histoplasmosis (two cases). Lymphoepithelial cysts occurred in six cases, Warthin's tumor and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in one case each. CONCLUSIONS: ,These results indicate that infection and other lesions in the parotid glands are more frequent than hitherto described in the specialized literature in AIDS patients. Clinicians should consider parotid gland involvement, when evaluating disease extension in advanced AIDS patients. [source] Cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure measurements in acute headache patients and in patients with either chronic or no painACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2010S. H. Bø Bø SH, Davidsen EM, Benth J,, Gulbrandsen P, Dietrichs E. Cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure measurements in acute headache patients and in patients with either chronic or no pain. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122 (Suppl. 190): 6,11. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objective,,, To observe cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure (CSFOP) in different clinical settings and in patients with acute, chronic and no pain and to observe possible differences because of age and sex. Method,,, In this prospective study, CSFOP was measured in lumbar puncture in three different settings of clinical investigations; patients with acute headache investigated for subarachnoidal haemorrhage (n = 222), patients with sciatica undergoing myelography (n = 61), and patients in an outpatient neurological clinic (n = 65). Results,,, The mean CSFOP in cm H2O was 17.3 for the myelography patients, 19.1 for the outpatients, 19.3 for the primary headache patients and 22.4 for the patients with secondary headache. Large proportions of patients in all groups had CSFOP above 20 cm H2O. The female patients in all groups had lower mean CSFOP than the male patients. Conclusion,,, The CSFOP levels found in clinical practice among patients without intracranial lesions or infectious conditions were broader than expected. Measurement of CSFOP is of limited value as diagnostic procedure if not closely linked to clinical symptoms and finds. [source] | ||||||||||