European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Jul 1992
Occurrence and phenotypic properties of verotoxin producing Escherichia coli in sporadic cases of gastroenteritis.
Five verotoxin producing Escherichia coli strains were detected in 405 patients with infectious gastroenteritis and 3 such strains were detected in 11 patients with the hemolytic uremic syndrome in Switzerland. Production of verotoxin 2 was associated with the latter three strains. ⋯ None of the strains was of serotype O157:H7. The methods available at present for detecting toxins or toxin genes will reliably detect all such verotoxin producing strains.
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Mar 1991
Comparative Study Clinical TrialEfficacy of clindamycin/primaquine versus trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in primary treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.
Mild to moderately severe Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in patients with AIDS was treated in a clinical trial with a combination regimen of primaquine and clindamycin, and the efficacy of this regimen was compared with that of the conventional treatment regimen of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The results revealed that primaquine/clindamycin appears to be an equally effective alternative to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The spectrum of side-effects was similar for the two regimens; side-effects occurred with equal frequency but appeared to be less severe in patients given primaquine/clindamycin. Because therapy with primaquine and clindamycin was limited to patients with mild to moderate Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, studies with this regimen in more severe cases are warranted.
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Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · Jul 1990
ReviewThe design of clinical trials with antibiotics.
Clinical trials to test antibiotics are normally of a less than satisfactory quality. Examples of common errors in the design and execution of trials with antibiotics are inclusion of too few patients to allow conclusions to be drawn, open uncontrolled design leading to a risk of considerable investigator bias, and inclusion of heterogeneous patient samples. This article suggests minimum requirements for antibiotic studies. Guidelines for such trials are needed and should have the widest possible international application in order to permit studies involving centres in various countries and to reduce the costs for development of new drugs.
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Histoplasmosis occurs throughout the world but is more common within the endemic areas of North America, particularly in fertile river valleys. Disease manifestations range from asymptomatic infection in the normal host with low-inoculum exposure to rapidly fatal, disseminated infection in the severely immunocompromised host, emphasizing the importance of cellular immunity in defense against Histoplasma capsulatum. ⋯ Recently, a method has been developed for rapid diagnosis based on detection of a polysaccharide antigen in body fluids of patients with histoplasmosis. Amphotericin B remains the preferred treatment for more severe forms of histoplasmosis, particularly in the immunocompromised host, but oral treatment with ketoconazole or newer imidozoles appears to be effective in less severe infections in non-immunocompromised individuals.