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

Three hundred fifty-nine consecutive patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to university, community, and VA hospitals underwent a standardized evaluation, including specialized tests for Legionella spp. and Chlamydia pneumoniae (TWAR). The most common underlying illnesses were immunosuppression (36.3%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (32.4%), and malignancy (28.4%). The most frequent etiologic agents were Streptococcus pneumoniae (15.3%) and Hemophilus influenzae (10.9%). Surprisingly, Legionella spp. and C. pneumoniae were the third and fourth most frequent etiologies at 6.7% and 6.1%, respectively. Aerobic gram-negative pneumonias were relatively uncommon causes of pneumonia despite the fact that empiric broad-spectrum combination antibiotic therapy is so often directed at this subgroup. In 32.9%, the etiology was undetermined. Antibiotic administration before admission was significantly associated with undetermined etiology (p = 0.0003). There were no distinctive clinical features found to be diagnostic for any etiologic agent, although high fever occurred more frequently in Legionnaires' disease. Clinical manifestations for C. pneumoniae were generally mild, although 38% of patients had mental status changes. Mortality was highest for Staphylococcus aureus (50%) and lowest for C. pneumoniae (4.5%) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (0%). We document that specialized laboratory testing for C. pneumoniae and Legionella spp. should be more widely used rather than reserved for cases not responding to standard therapy. Furthermore, realization that C. pneumoniae and Legionella spp. are common etiologies for community-acquired pneumonia should affect empiric antibiotic prescription.
 ...
PMID:New and emerging etiologies for community-acquired pneumonia with implications for therapy. A prospective multicenter study of 359 cases. 220 84

The sputum pharmacokinetics and clinical efficacy of ciprofloxacin in lower respiratory tract infections is reviewed. Following intravenous administration, ciprofloxacin penetrates rapidly into bronchial tissue; the elimination half life is between 3 and 4 h and a dose dependency is seen. Following oral intake, the time to reach maximal concentrations is approximately two hours and after a dose of 750 mg the concentration may reach 1.7 mg/l in patients without cystic fibrosis and range from 0.5 to 3.4 mg/l in cystic fibrosis patients. Coadministration of ciprofloxacin increases serum levels and decreases total body clearance of theophylline. In controlled comparative clinical trials, ciprofloxacin has been found to have similar clinical efficacy as amoxycillin, ampicillin, cefalexin, doxycycline, co-trimoxazole, imipenem-cilastatin and ceftazidime for the treatment of a range of lower respiratory tract infections. Ciprofloxacin has been found to be superior in clinical efficacy to cefaclor. Experimental animal models suggest a role for ciprofloxacin in infections caused by Legionella pneumophila and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The clinical and bacteriological efficacy of ciprofloxacin is less pronounced in lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but is comparable to the combination of beta-lactams and aminoglycosides. Development of resistance is frequently observed during ciprofloxacin treatment of Ps. aeruginosa. Because of the availability of other oral and effective agents, ciprofloxacin is not recommended for empirical treatment of community acquired lower respiratory infections, but should be reserved for infections caused by multiply resistant organisms.
 ...
PMID:Clinical efficacy of ciprofloxacin in lower respiratory tract infections. 266 11

Diagnosis of acute, primary extensive pneumopathies provoking severe hypoxemia is particularly difficult, became of the non-specific radiological findings, resulting from the oedema and associated alveolar collapse, and the fact that the clinical picture and biological test results are not very characteristic of a particular etiology. Similar findings may be obtained, therefore, in bacterial pneumopathies so-called typical pulmonary affections, certain forms of acute, tuberculosis, and other types of infection of three patients admitted for acute respiratory insufficiency, two died after treatment with a betalactamine, alone or associated with an aminoside, subsequent serology providing evidence of psittacosis. Diagnosis was immediately established in the third patient, the wife of one of the other cases, and she recovered after erythromycin treatment. The lungs of the two patients that died showed suggestive bronchiolitis and peribronchiolar alveolitis, together with obliterative alveolar granulations and fibrosis, probably secondary to the psittacosis, and responsible for the fatal outcome. Psittacosis as a cause of an extensive pneumopathy of probable infectious origin may easily pass unrecognized, typical etiologies being infections due to pneumococcus, Legionella pneumophila. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and viruses. Erythromycin, active against these microorganisms, would therefore appear to be the antibiotic therapy that should be prescribed initially, those with wider spectrums being reserved for cases with atypical radiological findings, or when precise bacteriological data is available.
 ...
PMID:[Psittacosis as a cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (author's transl)]. 710 4

Between February 1989 and June 1994 193 cases of acute community acquired pneumonia (PAC) which were of intermediate or great severity were admitted to two hospitals in the South West of France. These patients were explored using bronchofibroscopy (FB) with a protected brush (BP) and alveolar microlavage (MLBA) and quantitative cultures were performed, also there were other specimens taken in a regular fashion. The percentage of positive examinations was 60% for brushings (BP), 59% for MLBA and 21% for blood cultures and 16% for serological tests. An aetiology was determined in 137 cases (70.9%). The organisms recovered were Streptococcus pneumoniae (49.6%), gram negative bacilli (17.4%), Haemophilus influenzae (11.7%), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (4.4%), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (4.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (3.6%), Chlamydia pneumoniae (2.2%), Legionella pneumophila (0.7%), and various 5.8%. The overall mortality was 15% despite immediate antibiotics based on the likely organism in 88% of cases. The study of prognostic factors confirmed the Fine score system (determined a posteriori) which constitutes a useful and practical index determining the management of PAC. On the other hand the role of bacteriological documentation in improving the vital prognosis remains to be confirmed. If bronchofibroscopy has appeared to us as a safe and useful means of investigation, the management of these disease remains to specified. We suggest that its use is reserved for subjects with life threatening disease (a Fine score equal to or greater than 3) or for those patients who are likely to have unusual germs: failure of previous antibiotics, diabetes, malnourishment, cancer, airflow obstruction and inhalation.
 ...
PMID:[Acute community-acquired pneumonia of moderate and grave severity investigated by bronchoscopy. Analysis of 193 cases hospitalized in a general hospital]. 871 Dec 37

All series of infective endocarditis had a variable proportion of cases without an etiologic agent because all cultures were negative. New microbiologic techniques have permitted the discovery of the role of many microorganisms in infective endocarditis. C. burnetii is an increasing causative agent of subacute infective endocarditis. In the diagnosis, to the detection of antiphase-I antibodies, immunohistochemical, molecular techniques and cellular cultures have been added. Total cure is difficult to obtain. The combination of doxicicline plus ciprofloxacin for at least 3 years has been proposed as the treatment of choice. Surgery must be reserved for patients with cardiac insufficiency. Less than 2% of cases of acute brucellosis are complicate with infective endocarditis. Infective endocarditis produces serious and rapid valvular destruction with high mortality rates if valve surgery is not performed. For medical treatment at least 3 active agents are required. Bartonella has recently been described as an etiologic agent of infective endocarditis. It mainly affects to homeless people living in poor hygienic conditions. The aortic valve is most commonly involved and, frequently, valve insufficiency requires valve replacement. Blood culture isolation needs long incubation periods. Parenteral nutrition, immunosuppression, wide spectrum antibiotic regimens, intravenous drug addiction and cardiovascular surgery are risk factors previously described in the development of fungal endocarditis. C. albicans and Aspergillus spp. are most frequent etiologic agents. Infective endocarditis should be suspected in any patient with systemic fungal disease. Blood cultures are often negative except for Candida spp. Peripheral emboli and large vegetations are frequent. Mortality is high, antifungal therapy combined with surgery is the treatment of choice. Legionella, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, Mycobacteria, viruses are potential agents of infective endocarditis, and difficult to diagnose because of special culture requirements. Epidemiological clues, serologic and molecular techniques and blood cultures could identify them.
 ...
PMID:[Infective endocarditis caused by unusual microorganisms]. 965 53