Arch Intern Med
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The occurrence of pulmonary toxic reaction due to vinblastine sulfate alone or in combination with drugs other than mitomycin is not known. Acute respiratory distress is a rare phenomenon in patients receiving both chemotherapeutic agents. Two cases of fatal acute respiratory failure due to pulmonary edema occurred in patients receiving vinblastine-mitomycin for non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung. In view of the unpredictability of the reaction, observation of patients receiving this combination therapy is recommended.
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We reviewed 410 episodes of Pseudomonas bacteremia occurring in patients with cancer during a ten-year period. Pseudomonas bacteremia was most common among patients with acute leukemia. The majority of patients acquired their infections in the hospital, and 51% had received antibiotic therapy for other presumed or proved infection during the preceding week. ⋯ A one- to two-day delay in the administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy reduced the cure rate from 74% to 46%. Patients who received an antipseudomonal beta-lactam antibiotic with or without an aminoglycoside had a significantly higher cure rate than patients who received only an aminoglycoside (72% and 71% vs 29%). Patients with shock, pneumonia, or persistent neutropenia had a substantially poorer prognosis.
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We analyzed the time course of serum creatine kinase (CK), the CK MB isozyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) activity and calculated rates of increase and decline for CK in 24 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) who received intracoronary thrombolytic therapy. In 19 patients with successfully reperfused infarcts, peak CK activity occurred at 14.1 +/- 1.1 hours after onset of symptoms, the maximal rate of CK rise was 595 +/- 102 IU/L/hr, and the fractional disappearance rate (Kd) was (86 +/- 6) X 10(-5)/min. The peak CK MB activity occurred at 12.9 +/- 0.8 hours and the MB Kd was (223 +/- 39) X 10(-5)/min. ⋯ The peak CK, CK MB, cumulative CK release, and area under the curve were not different. Except for a shortened time to peak SGOT in the reperfused (17.1 +/- 1.3 hours) compared with the nonreperfused (29.1 +/- 5.6 hours) groups, the time course of LDH and SGOT were not different. Thus, the initial serum CK kinetics and time to peak SGOT may be useful in assessing the reperfusion status in patients with AMI receiving thrombolytic therapy without coronary angiography or in those who may have spontaneous recanalization.
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Arterial blood oxygenation improved repeatedly after sedation and paralysis in a 27-year-old woman requiring mechanical ventilation for the adult respiratory distress syndrome. Oxygen consumption and cardiac output decreased proportionately after paralysis so that the partial pressure of oxygen in mixed venous blood remained unchanged. Paralysis eliminated inspiratory distortion of the airway pressure waveform and prevented forceful use of expiratory musculature. A flow-related reduction of venous admixture or recruitment of lung volume may best explain the beneficial effect of muscle relaxation on arterial saturation.
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Case Reports
Thymoma with immunodeficiency (Good's syndrome) associated with myasthenia gravis and benign IgG gammopathy.
We treated a case of thymoma with immunodeficiency (Good's syndrome) associated with a rare combination of other parathymic syndromes including myasthenia gravis, benign IgG lambda M component, pernicious anemia, and diabetes. The characterization of the patient's immunologic capacity disclosed practically normal T-cell number and mitogenic responses but impaired lymphokine production as well as B-cell function.