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)

Fourteen open lung biopsies were done in 13 patients out of a total of 63 heart transplant recipients. All of the patients were receiving cyclosporine and azathioprine (Imuran) and had received prophylactic antithymocyte globulin or murine antihuman mature T cell (OKT3). Eight of the patients were receiving steroids, and five of the patients had been weaned off steroids. A fever of greater than 38.5 degrees C was present in all 13 patients. Hypoxia, defined as PO2 less than 60 on room air, was present in 11 of the 13 patients. One patient had to be intubated before surgery for respiratory failure. The chest x-ray film most often revealed bilateral interstitial infiltrates. The operative approach was by a small anterior thoracotomy in 12 patients and a posterolateral thoracotomy in two patients. A definitive diagnosis was made in 11 of the 14 open lung biopsies: three patients had Legionella, one had cytomegalovirus (CMV), one had a Pseudomonas infection, three had Pneumocystis, one patient had CMV and Pneumocystis, one patient had a pulmonary infarct, and one patient had a pulmonary infarct and CMV. Specific therapy was instituted in all these patients. In the three patients in whom no specific diagnosis was made, therapy was also changed and the use of antibiotics discontinued. There was no mortality in this group. Morbidity was minimal. No patient had excessive bleeding, and none of the patients required the transfusion of blood or blood products. Three patients required mechanical ventilatory support for longer than 24 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Early, aggressive open lung biopsy in heart transplant recipients. 330 35

Combined heart and lung transplantation was carried out in 17 patients at Stanford University between March, 1981, and December, 1983. The recipients were between 22 and 45 years old. All patients had end-stage pulmonary hypertension; 10 had Eisenmenger's syndrome and the remaining 7, primary pulmonary hypertension. Five patients died within the first few postoperative weeks. The remainder are well between four weeks and 33 months from operation. The immunosuppressive protocol has consisted of cyclosporine with an initial course of rabbit antithymocyte globulin. Azathioprine also was given for the first two weeks and then was replaced with prednisone. Rejection, as diagnosed by cardiac biopsy, was treated with high doses of methylprednisolone. Modifications of technique that have developed include the removal of the recipient heart and lungs separately, and preservation of the lungs with a modified Collins' solution instead of a cardioplegic solution. Rejection occurred in 6 of the 12 survivors. Infections developed in 9 patients, but only one resulted in a fatal outcome (Legionella). Thus, the results of clinical heart-lung transplantation have been considerably superior to clinical efforts in lung transplantation. It is suggested that the combined operation is preferable for the following reasons: (1) all diseased tissue is removed, thus eliminating recurrent infection and ventilation/perfusion disparity; (2) transplantation of the entire heart-lung block preserves coronary-bronchial vascular anastomoses and makes airway dehiscence less likely; and (3) to date, diagnosis of rejection by cardiac biopsy has appeared to be a satisfactory method of diagnosing and treating pulmonary rejection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Heart-lung transplantation for irreversible pulmonary hypertension. 643 34

A 67-year-old man was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis one year ago. Remission was induced via the oral administration of prednisolone and azathioprine;prednisolone was gradually reduced and discontinued. He maintained remission with azathioprine but developed fever and general malaise and visited the Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital. Chest radiography and a urinary antigen test revealed Legionella pneumonia. His symptoms reduced immediately after the initiation of levofloxacin. Azathioprine suppresses cellular immunity and may increase the risk of Legionella pneumonia.
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PMID:[A case report of Legionella pneumonia in a patient with ulcerative colitis undergoing remission maintenance using azathioprine]. 3317 59