Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023241 (Legionella)
 6,990 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Bronchoalveolar washout was performed in 130 patients with pneumonia during a period of 28 months. Microbiological investigation involved common bacteria, Legionella, fungi, viruses (Cytomegalovirus, herpes, RSV), Mycobacterium, and Pneumocystis carinii. Infection HIV was present in 75% of patients. The remaining patients had malignant diseases or severe pneumonia. The overall sensitivity of the technique was 65.4% and the positive predictive value was 92%. The technique was less sensitive in cases of bacterial pneumonia (sensitivity = 34.4%). This was attributed to the fact that 82.8% of these cases received antibiotic therapy. Pneumocystis carinii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were the most common agents (44.8% and 34.5%, respectively). In seven instances the clinical picture was related to cytomegalovirus, although this diagnosis can not be easily done.
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PMID:[Evaluation of bronchoalveolar lavage in the microbiological diagnosis of pneumonia in patients at risk]. 186 7

The risk of opportunistic infection in the renal transplant patient is due to an interaction between two major factors: the epidemiologic exposures (particularly within the hospital environment) and the net state of immunosuppression. The net state of immunosuppression is determined by the nature, dose, and duration of the immunosuppressive therapy being administered; the presence or absence of granulocytopenia and technical factors that could compromise the primary mucocutaneous barriers to infection; such metabolic factors as uremia, hyperglycemia, and the state of nutrition; and, finally, the immunomodulating effects of such viruses as CMV, the hepatitis viruses, and HIV. The major types of opportunistic infection to which the renal transplant patient is susceptible are the following: the viruses of the herpes group and papovaviruses; bacteria such as L monocytogenes, N asteroides, and Legionella; such fungi as Candida, Aspergillus, C neoformans, and the Mucoraceae; and protozoans such as P carinii, S stercoralis, and T gondii.
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PMID:Opportunistic infections in renal allograft recipients. 305 19

In this review of the risk of infection to hospital staff, attention is drawn to the continuing risk presented by hepatitis B and pulmonary tuberculosis, which are more common than diseases such as typhoid fever, brucellosis, histoplasmosis, whooping cough, infectious gastroenteritis, measles, and parotiditis. Other items considered include the susceptibility of female hospital staff to rubella and the importance of their undergoing screening and vaccination; the risks currently presented by epidemic keratoconjunctivitis and by herpes viruses (herpes simplex, varicella zoster, and cytomegalovirus); and the risk of contracting the new infectious diseases (Legionnaires' disease, Marburg disease, Lassa fever, and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome).
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PMID:Occupational hazards in hospitals: risk of infection. 330 95

Host defense mechanisms spaced along the respiratory tree and in the alveolar spaces effectively remove or contend with micro-organisms that enter the airways, so serious lung infections occur rarely in healthy people. Special circumstances, such as virgin exposure to a virulent microbe or a large innoculum of a pathogen, can result in illness, but usually routine surveillance host defenses are protective and suffice to keep colonizing airway flora in check. When pneumonia develops or recurrent sinopulmonary infection exists, however, some element of the normal defense apparatus may have failed or is inadequate. This review highlights several components of the apparatus, that is immunoglobulins IgG and IgA and the interaction of alveolar macrophages and lymphocytes, and examines deficiencies in their function that may result in infection. Along the conducting airways, poor mucociliary clearance and/or deficiencies in certain IgG subclass antibodies or destruction of IgA may predispose to sinopulmonary infections; these may be a manifestation of a hereditary disease. In pneumonia the alveolar macrophage is positioned as the central cell which must respond in several directions. This scavenger phagocyte first intercepts the microbe and either can kill or contain it or must call in some other phagocytic cell or inflammatory mediator(s) for assistance. Opsonic antibodies (IgG) and other nonimmune opsonins (complement and surfactant or fibronectin fragments) facilitate phagocytosis, but an absence of antibody may permit infection to develop with encapsulated bacteria (pneumococcus). Insufficient bone marrow reserves of PMNs or a paucity of chemotactic factors to attract them into the alveoli is a situation that may permit gram-negative bacilli and fungal organisms to flourish. Inability of immune T-lymphocytes to energize macrophages, through soluble cellular mediators that provide cell-mediated immunity and activation, makes containment of certain intracellular microbes impossible for these phagocytes (Legionella or mycobacteria). Likewise, concomitant infection of macrophages with viruses (human immunodeficiency virus, and cytomegalovirus or herpes viruses) plus an excessive T-lymphocyte suppressor cell influence may make P. carinii and common bacterial and fungal organisms difficult to contain in the lungs of AIDS patients. Consideration about what the lung host deficiency might be can make therapy more specific through immunization to develop special antibodies, replacement of certain immunoglobulins (IgG subclasses), or selective administration of cell mediators (gamma-interferon or interleukins).
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PMID:Host defense impairments that may lead to respiratory infections. 331 80

General screening investigations with various antigens were carried out with a view to further specific investigations being carried out on the Cape Verde Islands concerning infectious diseases. Serological positive reactions were found in Mumps, Adeno, PLT, Cytomegaly, Herpes, Para-influenza 1, 2, 3, Influenza A and B, Mycoplasmosis, RS-Virus, Gonorrhoea, Hepatitis A and B, R. conori, Malaria, Syphilis, Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Varicella, Legionella, Picornavirus, Measles, German Measles, Listeriosis, Toxoplasmosis and Amoebic dysentery.
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PMID:Serological screenings of various infectious diseases on the Cape Verde Islands (West Africa). 344 44

Fiber-optic bronchoscopy (FOB) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were performed on 67 occasions in 57 immunocompromised patients with symptoms consistent with pulmonary infection. Diagnosis was achieved more often in renal transplant patients than in patients with hematological malignancies (85% versus 28%). Culture (bacteria, virus, fungi), staining and microscopy (bacteria, fungi, Pneumocystis carinii (PC)) and antigen detection by indirect immunofluorescence (cytomegalovirus (CMV), respiratory viruses, PC, Legionella) were used for diagnosis. On 20 occasions transbronchial biopsies with histopathologic examination were performed. In addition, serology comprising the herpes group (HHV-6) and respiratory viruses was done. A microbial diagnosis was obtained on 45% of occasions. The most common pathogens found were CMV (31%) and PC (25%). On 22 (33%) occasions a rapid diagnosis of 1 or more microbial agents was obtained within 24 h by conventional staining or indirect immunofluorescence. The clinical relevance of findings of CMV, HHV-6, and Epstein-Barr virus in BAL by polymerase chain detection on 18, 6 and 3 occasions is discussed. On 4 occasions pathogenic bacteria were found. It was not possible to relate findings of coagulase-negative staphylococci, alpha-streptococci and Candida albicans to the pulmonary infection.
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PMID:Diagnosis of pulmonary infections in immunocompromised patients by fiber-optic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage and serology. 895 78

The lung is a common site of infection in patients with cancer. The spectrum of pulmonary infection depends on the underlying immunologic deficit or deficits. In neutropenic patients, gram-negative bacterial infections predominate early, whereas fungal infections (Aspergillus, Zygomycetes, Fusarium species) are common if neutropenia persists. In patients with impaired cellular immunity, viral infections (cytomegalovirus, other herpes viruses) predominate and may coexist with bacterial (Legionella, Nocardia), mycobacterial, and fungal (Aspergillus, Histoplasma, etc.) infections. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is also common in this setting. Infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae are the primary bacterial infections encountered in patients with impaired humoral immunity. In patients with primary or metastatic pulmonary neoplasms, postobstructive pneumonitis, lung abscess, and occasionally empyema of mixed bacterial etiology (Staphylococcus species, gram-negative bacilli, anaerobes) are frequent. Patients with brain tumors and head and neck cancer develop aspiration pneumonitis, which is usually caused by organisms living in the oropharynx and upper airways. Several immunologic deficits might be present in the same patient, making such a patient susceptible to a wide variety of opportunistic pathogens.
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PMID:The spectrum of pulmonary infections in cancer patients. 1142 77

In microbiology, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become an important tool for the analysis of clinical samples. For example, it led to the detection of Hepatitis-B Virus DNA (HBV-DNA) in patients with serological patterns not previously associated with active infection (1). PCR-based assays are also more sensitive than conventional tests for the detection of many other infective agents, like Hepatitis-C Virus (HCV), herpes viruses, or Legionella pneumophila (2). In some cases, however, the detection of the nucleic-acid sequences of a certain infectious agent is not very informative. Here is a quantitative information of the amount of nucleic acid needed. DNA quantitation is useful for monitoring the viral load during antiviral therapy (3), in estimating the degree of infectiousity of individuals (4,5), and (e.g., for herpes viruses) to differentiate between latent and active infection. Owing to its sensitivity, quantitative PCR is the most sensitive technique for the quantitation of nucleic acids and therefore has been investigated in detail.
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PMID:Competitive PCR quantitation utilizing a microtiter plate based format for the detection of PCR products. 2134 Aug 77

Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) are a population at high risk for cutaneous adverse events. Their early recognition and appropriate treatment is an important component of the clinical management of OTRs and should be optimally dealt with by dermatologists working in the context of a transplant dermatology clinic. Skin examination should be a standard procedure before performing organ transplantation to assess conditions which may be difficult to manage after the transplant procedure has been performed or which may represent a contraindication to transplantation, e.g., malignant melanoma. It also offers an opportunity to educate patients on skin care after organ transplantation. Skin infections can occur at any time after organ transplantation and include viral, bacterial, and fungal opportunistic infections. The risk of reactivation of latent viruses, such as varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV), is high. Bacterial infections are frequent and may be caused by unusual agents such Actinomyces, Mycobacteria, Legionella, or Nocardia. A large spectrum of fungal infections may occur, ranging from superficial (e.g., dermatophytes) to deeper and more severe ones (Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Histoplasma). Drug-related idiosyncratic reactions usually occur early after the introduction of the causative drug, e.g., hypersensitivity reaction to azathioprine. On the long-term run, cutaneous effects due to cumulative drug toxicity, e.g., sebaceous hyperplasia from cyclosporine, may appear. Rare immunologically driven inflammatory reactions may occur in OTRs such as GVH or autoimmune disease. Tumors are particularly frequent. Kaposi's sarcoma, associated with persistent human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) infection, and cutaneous anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) occur early after transplantation. Other cancers, such as nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSCs), associated with persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, malignant melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, or adnexal tumors, manifest later with an incidence which is much higher than observed in the general population. The incidence increases further after a first NMSC occurs.
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PMID:Dermatological Complications After Solid Organ Transplantation. 2917 92