Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Jul 1986
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialVaricella-zoster-specific immune responses in acute herpes zoster during a placebo-controlled trial of oral acyclovir therapy.
During a placebo-controlled trial of oral acyclovir therapy for acute zoster in immunocompetent patients, we examined the blastogenic response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and antibody titers in both placebo and acyclovir recipients to determine whether the drug affected the cell-mediated or humoral immune responses. Proliferative responses to mitogens and two dilutions of varicella-zoster virus antigen were not inhibited when fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells were simultaneously tested in autologous sera collected before and on day 7 of a 10-day course of 2 g/day of oral acyclovir (plasma drug levels averaged 4.6 microM). ⋯ Geometric mean antibody titer rises to varicella-zoster virus were also lower among drug recipients but not significantly so. Although this dose of acyclovir did not have a statistically significant effect on lymphocyte proliferative responses to varicella-zoster virus antigen or antibody titers, the lower values in drug recipients may be a reflection of the ability of acyclovir to terminate viral replication, thus reducing the patient's antigenic burden.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Sep 1985
Case ReportsA case of coccidioidomycosis diagnosed by exoantigen testing.
A case of coccidioidomycosis is described which was caused by a pigmented fungus that failed to produce arthroconidia. Exoantigen testing showed that the isolate produced an antigen that gave a line of identity with Coccidioides (C.) immitis. ⋯ The patient's serum was found to have antibodies that reacted in complement fixation and immunodiffusion tests to C. immitis antigens. The exoantigen test results were responsible for the diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis in this case.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · May 1985
Case ReportsDisseminated histoplasmosis presenting as an acute tenosynovitis.
Disseminated histoplasmosis is usually a multifocal process with a wide variety of clinical presentations. Despite frequent bone marrow involvement, overt bone and joint disease is uncommon and isolated synovial involvement is extremely rare. We describe in this report an unusual case of disseminated histoplasmosis presenting as acute tenosynovitis. To our knowledge, this is only the second reported case of synovial involvement by H. capsulatum without a concomitant osseous lesion.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Sep 1984
Effects of dressing type and change interval on intravenous therapy complication rates.
Using a prospective study design, we compared the incidence rates in 807 patients of phlebitis, malfunction, cellulitis, and septicemia for short-term Teflon catheters with dressings changed every 24 or 48 hr, or using a polyurethane dressing changed every 48 hr. The study utilized either a standard dressing, which consisted of a small piece of dry sterile gauze, or a polyurethane dressing. ⋯ The risk of malfunction was significantly greater at 24 hr for the polyurethane dressing compared with the other two groups (p less than 0.05). These findings indicate that adoption of a 48-hr dressing change interval using a standard dressing could result in less phlebitis and significant cost savings to a university-based institution.
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Sep 1983
A longitudinal study of the prevalence of bacterial enteric pathogens among adults with diarrhea in Bangkok, Thailand.
Six hundred sixty adults with diarrhea treated at Bamrasnaradura hospital, Bangkok, Thailand were investigated to determine the prevalence, seasonality, and severity of diarrhea associated with bacterial enteric pathogens in 1980 and 1981. Shigella were isolated from 27% and Vibrio parahaemolyticus from 19% of the patients studied. ⋯ Patients with cholera passed more watery stools, while those with Salmonella and Shigella most frequently had headaches, and those with Shigella more often had blood in their stools than those with other infections, or in whom no bacterial enteric pathogens were identified. Annual, seasonal, and, from a comparison with other reported surveys, geographical differences exist in the prevalence of bacterial enteric pathogens in adults with diarrhea in tropical developing countries.