Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0034065 (pulmonary embolism)
 14,979 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Since 1985 organ donors are routinely tested for the presence of HIV-antibodies, but prior to that time several patients acquired HIV-infection from grafts. In May 1984 a 65-year-old woman on hemodialysis received a cadaver kidney graft from a young iv drug addict. The transplant functioned perfectly with cyclosporin A immunosuppression. Retrospectively, 22 days after surgery HIV antigen was detected. At this time only a faint band of anti-p24 antibodies was found in the Western blot. Two years after surgery splenomegaly was found in the apparently healthy patient. During the third year thrombocytes fell and she developed lymphadenopathy and constitutional symptoms. Up to this time the immunological parameters were in the range of 10 healthy renal transplant patients with cyclosporin A treatment. In the 4th year T-lymphocytes dropped to values below 200 and the patient developed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. A few months later a pulmonary node, which later proved to be a B-cell lymphoma, appeared. Slightly less than 5 years after transplantation the patient died from clinically diagnosed pulmonary embolism. The progression of the HIV-Infection in this patient and in one of 18 patients in published reports show that the incubation period is several years shorter in renal transplant patients than in those who acquire HIV from blood products.
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PMID:[HIV infection caused by kidney transplant: case report and review of 18 published cases]. 267 39

The application of 99mTc-DTPA radioaerosols to a variety of clinical disorders is described. With the development of simple equipment that can deliver very small droplets, this approach has become increasingly popular for measurements of the distribution of ventilation in patients with obstructive lung disease and suspected pulmonary embolism. In addition, by determining the rate at which the radionuclide is cleared from the lung, information has been obtained concerning the permeability of the pulmonary epithelium to extracellular indicators. Accelerated clearance rates have been found in patients with a variety of chronic interstitial lung diseases indicating that epithelial permeability is increased. Accelerated clearance rates have also been found with acute inflammation of the lung such as the adult respiratory distress syndrome and pneumocystis pneumonia. Furthermore, rapidly reversible increases in 99mTc-DTPA clearance occur in smokers and may be related to the inflammatory changes that contribute to the development of emphysema.
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PMID:99mTc-DTPA aerosol deposition and clearance in COPD, interstitial disease, and smokers. 329 74

This report describes an HIV-seropositive patient with symptoms suggestive of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The final diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was delayed because initially only HIV-specific complications were considered. The relation between AIDS and pulmonary embolism is discussed briefly.
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PMID:Human immunodeficiency virus, fever, dyspnoea and a dry cough. Expect the unexpected? 823 90

The results of 100 consecutive autopsy studies performed since the introduction and use of cyclosporine (1984 to 1991) in patients who died less than 2.5 months after cardiac transplantation were analysed to try to prevent this type of lethal damage. The lesions were complex but the causes of death may be classified as follows: 44 infections (20 aspergillosis, with 13 septicaemias and 7 predominantly pulmonary complications, 15 severe lung infections, 9 other infections including 7 pyogenic mediastino-pericarditis), 12 acute myocardial rejects, 14 pulmonary arteriolitis reflecting the fact that pulmonary resistances affect the results of cardiac transplantation, 13 non-infectious pericarditis, 17 immediate postoperative deaths (incompetent graft, DIVC). In the discussion, the authors underline the importance of pericardial damage, the direct cause of death in 13 cases but also present in most cases of infection when sometimes clinically confused with the diagnosis of "acute reject". Acute pancreatitis (over 10% of cases) were often labelled "septicaemic shock". Pulmonary involvement is one of the commonest complications related to infection and changes due to passive pulmonary hypertension related to the causal preoperative disease, by silent pulmonary embolism during the 3 months of cardiac failure before surgery and DIVC. Infection was the cause of death in nearly half of the early fatalities, and aspergillosis was particularly common whereas systematic prevention with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine has eliminated pneumocystosis for example. The management of immuno-depression varies from centre to centre and this is also a factor in the incidence of anatomical complications.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Early fatal lesions after cardiac transplantation. Results of 100 autopsies]. 833 96

Carbon-laden macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage have been noted to be associated with a history of crack smoking. We report herein the finding of carbon-laden macrophages in four cytological preparations of pleural fluid from two crack smokers. The etiology of the two patients' pleural effusions differed; neither had a bronchopleural fistula. Patient 1 had AIDS, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and Kaposi's sarcoma of the right lung with an associated bilateral pleural effusion. Patient 2 was HIV seropositive, had pulmonary tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B, and C, cardiomyopathy, pulmonary embolism, and bilateral pleural effusions, the latter of which were probably due to cardio-pulmonary dysfunction. An additional two crack smokers with pleural effusions due to malignancy, one primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma and the other metastatic melanoma, did not have carbon-like material in their pleural fluid cytology. We hypothesize that intracellular accumulation of carbonaceous material in the lung parenchyma and pleural space occurs when normal clearance mechanisms are overwhelmed.
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PMID:Carbon-laden macrophages in pleural fluid of crack smokers. 859 15

The problem of drug abuse in America encompasses all ages, economic, and ethnic groups. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has recorded a continuous increase in drug abuse deaths in Maryland over the past seven years. This report focuses on the epidemiological characteristics and pathological findings of victims of fatal drug abuse in Maryland investigated by the OCME in 1992 and 1993. A retrospective study of OCME cases in 1992 and 1993 yielded a total of 605 deaths caused by drugs of abuse. 426 deaths were the result of narcotic drug use, 66 deaths due to cocaine, 102 deaths involved both narcotics and cocaine, 6 deaths were due to phencyclidine (PCP) and 5 involved both PCP and narcotic drugs. Drug abuse deaths most often involved individuals who were male (86%) and black (64%). Their ages ranged from 15 to 68 years with the majority (58%) of victims being in their 30's. Of the 605 drug deaths, 393 (65%) had a known history of drug abuse. 279 (46%) exhibited needle tracks, of which only 94 (16%) had identifiable fresh needle puncture marks. Drug paraphernalia (needles, syringes, etc.) was found at the scene in 22% of the cases. Twenty-nine (4.8%) cases showed complications of drug abuse which included pneumonia, endocarditis or myocarditis, pulmonary embolism, AIDS and intracerebral hemorrhage. 87 (14.4%) were positive for HIV antibodies, an incidence much higher than that identified in our general autopsy population (2.6%). Drugs of abuse were also found in a significant portion of the homicides examined at this office in 1992 and 1993. 323 of the 1265 homicide victims (25%) showed evidence of some form of illicit drug activity.
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PMID:Observations on drug abuse deaths in the State of Maryland. 893 5

A thirty-eight-year old immunosuppressed woman presented with respiratory distress and was diagnosed with Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia. Pulmonary embolism was also suspected on clinical grounds. A Ventilation-Perfusion Scan was indeterminate. Contrast-enhanced spiral computed tomography of the chest confirmed the presence of a central pulmonary embolus and helped to avoid pulmonary angiography in this critically ill patient.
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PMID:Diagnosis of pulmonary embolus by spiral CT: a case study. 1065 Jul 76

Respiratory emergencies may originate from disease in the airways, thoracic vessels, and pulmonary parenchyma. Airway obstruction may be amenable to bronchoscopic therapies, including laser ablation photodynamic therapy (PDT) and stent placement. Asthma is common, but may be mimicked by endobronchial metastasis. Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is seen most commonly with bronchogenic carcinoma and lymphoma. Emergent treatment need not precede tissue diagnosis in the absence of associated tracheal obstruction. Pulmonary embolism (PE) may now be diagnosed with spiral computed tomography (CT), but ventilation perfusion scintigraphy remains the first-line test. Parenchymal lung disease may result from infections, with neoplastic and iatrogenic etiologies. The incidence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is increasing among cancer patients, but it can be prevented by prophylaxis. Attempts to treat adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) through modification of inflammatory mediators have been disappointing, and the prognosis remains poor.
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PMID:Respiratory emergencies. 1086 15

Patients with primary brain tumors and those with cerebral metastases are at risk throughout their illness for several major medical problems, including vasogenic edema, seizures, and symptomatic venous thrombosis. In turn, the corticosteroids, anti-epileptic drugs, and anticoagulants used to treat these problems may produce significant adverse effects and result in important drug-drug interactions that may complicate chemotherapy. Although few Class I studies address any of these issues, guidelines can be offered to maximize quality of life and minimize hospital readmissions. Optimal management of brain edema involves minimizing corticosteroid use and tapering the steroid dose slowly to avoid steroid withdrawal symptoms. Prophylaxis of Pneumocystis pneumonia is necessary for patients requiring corticosteroids for more than 1 month. Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) should be avoided unless patients experience seizures. If possible, non-CTY (P450) enzyme-inducing drugs should be chosen. AED levels should be obtained frequently during corticosteroid taper. Multimodality venous thrombosis prophylaxis should begin at the time of the original surgery with external leg compression and unfractionated subcutaneous heparin or a low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). Brain tumor patients with symptomatic venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism can be anticoagulated safely with warfarin or with LMWH, and LMWHs are preferable from the standpoints of efficacy, safety, and convenience for long-term outpatient treatment of venous thrombosis. Clinicians should be aware of potential drug-drug interactions between prescribed AEDs and chemotherapy and possible interactions with complementary and alternative therapies chosen by their patients. They also should be aware of interventions to minimize late sequelae of brain tumors and their treatment, including cognitive decline, depression, and increased stroke risk.
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PMID:Treatment of Medical Complications in Patients with Brain Tumors. 1596 95