Arch Intern Med
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Late in 1973 at the Nashville Veterans Administration Hospital, an intrusion of Serratia marcescens infections that were resistant to gentamicin sulfate and other antimicrobial agents occurred. This abated somewhat, only to be superseded by another wave of multiply-resistant infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae beginning in the spring of 1974. ⋯ Both may have arisen because of the same persisting pressures favoring prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Indirect evidence including the sequential order of the outbreaks, similarity of antibiotograms, transferable multiple drug resistance from Serratia to Klebsiella, and possession of approximately equal molecular weight plasmids supported the notion that the two outbreaks were causally related.
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Diffuse pulmonary ossification (DPO) was a complication of "shock lung" after aortic valve replacement in a 52-year-old man. The relationship of DPO to shock lung is discussed. ⋯ The development of acidosis and mechanical forcer may potentiate fibroblastic transformation into an osteoblast. The mechanical forcer may influence the shape of the bone in the lung.
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Case Reports
High output heart failure associated with pulmonary edema complicating hydatidiform mole.
Detailed hemodynamic, metabolic and blood volume studies were performed in a patient with hydatidiform mole who developed pulmonary edema associated with a high cardiac output. Several factors including hyperthyroidism, hypervolemia, and the molar state probably contributed to the left ventricular failure in this patient. results of these studies suggest that patients with hydatidiform mole and pulmonary edema need correction of the hypervolemia as well as removal of the molar tissue.
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Multifocal atrial tachycardia (MAT) was observed in 41 patients, 35 of whom were in acute respiratory distress. A hospital mortality of 37% reflected the seriousness of their underlying conditions. In no patient was the arrhythmia the primary cause of death. ⋯ Digitalis was usually not effective in slowing the ventricular response in patients with MAT. Propranolol hydrochloride was given to seven patients and was effective in slowing the atrial rate in all cases. An attempt at electrocardioversion was unsuccessful in one patient.
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A striking reduction in serum arsenic level was achieved after four hours of hemodialysis in a patient with acute arsenic intoxication and transient renal failure. Quantitative dialysance of arsenic and a comparison of daily urinary excretion of arsenic with amount removed by dialysis suggested that hemodialysis is indicated in the treatment of acute arsenic intoxication if there is concomitant renal failure. In the presence of normal renal function, supportive measures, including dimercaprol (BAL in Oil) therapy, constitute the best available treatment.