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Query: UMLS:C0036690 (sepsis)
 59,461 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To examine further the role of immune-complex deposition in infective endocarditis, we studied 29 patients with infective endocarditis for presence of complement-containing circulating immune complexes. Ninety-seven per cent (28 of 29) had serum levels of immune complexes greater than 12 mug per milliliter. Mean levels in these patients were significantly higher than in patients with sepsis without endocarditis or in normal controls (P less than 0.05). Circulating immune-complex levels were correlated with longer duration of illness (P less than 0.025), extravalvular manifestations of endocarditis (P less than 0.025) and hypocomplementemia (P less than 0.05). Patients with right-sided endocarditis had significantly higher circulating immune-complex levels than patients with left-sided involvement (P less than 0.025). In general, levels fell to zero with successful antimicrobial or surgical therapy. This drop was concurrent with disappearance of extravalvular signs, blood cultures becoming sterile, and rise in serum complement levels. These findings support the concept that immune complexes may be important in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis.
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PMID:Circulating immune complexes in infective endocarditis. 99 57

The internationally accepted term septicaemia is used to describe illnesses in which pathogenic microorganisms are present in the blood. Septicaemia should be defined according to the causative organism, the portal of entry and the underlying disease. In the last 16 years the causative organisms in 788 cases of septicaemia in our hospital were found to be gram-positive cocci in 28.1% gram-negative rods in 37.6%, and other organisms in 24.i%. Infections with Psuedomonas in particular have become more frequent in recent years. The range of causative organisms in septicaemia varies considerably with the patient groups involved. Thus patients with myeloid insufficiency contracted primarily gram-negative septicaemia. As in the past, the pathogens in endocarditis today are primarily streptococci. In hemodialysis staphylococci and gram-negative rods are shown to occur with equal frequency. The most important clinical manifestation of septicaemia is fever with rigor. The poor prognosis in gram-negative septicaemia is mainly due to the onset of septic shock. Skin colonisation is often a typical sign of septicaemia and can also sometimes serve as a diagnostic indication. Hemorrhagic pustules surrounded by a zone of inflammation are typical in septicaemia caused by meningococci or gonococci. Skin eruptions are rare in septicaemia caused by streptococci of staphylococci. Whereas skin eruptions are absent in septicaemia due to enterobacteria, they are very often present in septicaemia caused by Pseudomonas. In bacterial endocarditis a wide variety of skin lesions can occur.
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PMID:[Clinical study of septicaemia (author's transl)]. 101 83

Complications after heart valve replacement remain a substantial source of morbidity and mortality despite continuing advances in surgical care and prosthetic design. Infectious endocarditis occurs in about 4 percent of patients and may appear early (within 60 days) or late after operation. Endocarditis of early onset is commonly due to staphylococcal, fungal or gram-negative organisms and is fatal in 70 percent or more of cases. Infection of late onset is more often of streptococcal origin and the mortality rate is lower, about 35 percent. With either type, prompt recognition, vigorous and appropriate antimicrobial therapy and early consideration of surgical intervention are crucial. The postperfusion and postpericardiotomy syndromes are relatively common and relatively benign syndromes associated with postoperative fever. Their recognition is important to prevent confusion with endocarditis or sepsis and thus to reassure the patient and physician. Treatment is primarily symptomatic. Intravascular hemolysis occurs with most prosthetic heart valves but is more common with certain prostheses and with paraprosthetic valve regurgitation, with significant hemolytic anemia in 5 to 15 percent. Oral iron replacement therapy is effective in the majority of patients, but occasionally blood transfusion or reoperation for leak around the prosthesis is necessary. Prosthesis dysfunction due to thrombus may be recognized clinically by recurrence of heart failure, syncope, cardiomegaly and altered prosthetic valve sounds or new murmurs. Hemodynamic studies verify the diagnosis, and prompt reoperation is indicated for this potentially lethal problem. Systemic embolization has decreased markedly with the introduction of cloth-covered prostheses and is frequently related to erratic or ineffective anticoagulant therapy. We continue to recommend anticoagulant therapy for all patients with prosthetic heart valves unless there is a major contraindication.
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PMID:Diagnosis and management of complications of prosthetic heart valves. 109 75

In conclusion, patients on chronic maintenance dialysis have an increased incidence of death from cardiovascular disease. Hypertension plays a major role, and these patients must be carefully monitored for complete control of blood pressure. Adequacy of ultrafiltration to maintain normal extracellular volume is an essential part of the dialytic treatment. Hypertensive patients should be screened for excessive renin secretion because of its possible role in unresponsive hypertension in patients on dialysis. Nephrectomy should be used when necessary, where dialysis and antihypertensive medication have not adequately controlled blood pressure. Patients must be monitored for the presence of pericardial disease to avoid subsequent pericardial effusion and the development of constrictive pericarditis with its adverse effect on myocardial function. When constrictive pericarditis is present, it obviously should be relieved by appropriate surgery. Efforts should be made to minimize cardiac output in hemodialysis patients. Whether or not routine transfusions to maintain a higher hematocrit are indicated is a question that cannot yet be answered. However, patients with marginal cardiovascular function who are accepted on hemodialysis and must have an arteriovenous shunt should be supported in any manner to minimize an increase in cardiac output. Early and aggressive treatment of known episodes of sepsis is important in the elimination of valvular endocarditis in this patient population. Perhaps one of the finer indicators of adequacy of hemodialysis will be K rate and peak immunoreactive insulin levels. Continued abnormality of these parameters may contribute to cardiovascular disease. Clearly, further study of the effect of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism on lipid metabolism is in order. Serum triglyceride, serum cholesterol and lipid electrophoretic pattern should be followed to evaluate the beneficial effects of drug therapy and changes in dialytic technique on the development of cardiovascular disease. Careful monitoring of calcium, phosphorus, bone films and parathyroid hormone levels is indicated to assess parathyroid status. The use of aluminum binders and parathyroidectomy to prevent vascular and myocardial calcification is important in the therapy of these patients. The use of cardiac catheterization, coronary artery arteriography, and possibly cardiac vascular repair, should be considered in the chronic hemodialysis patient with coronary artery disease if he is otherwise well. Adequacy of hemodialysis perhaps can be evaluated through its effect on all of the above parameters. Whether or not changes in artificial kidney treatments can correct the final vascular disease remains to be seen.
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PMID:Cardiovascular disease in uremic patients on hemodialysis. 109 1

From 1969 to 1974, 19 cases of Serratia marcescens endocarditis were observed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Seventeen patients were intravenous drug users, and Serratia caused 14% of all addict-associated endocarditis in San Francisco. Serratia strains were nonpigmented and had typical antibiotic sensitivities, except that 9 of the isolates exhibited colonial variation, with each variant having different antibiotic sensitivities. Aortic or mitral valves were involved in 13 patients, and heart failure developed in 9 of these. Twelve patients had embolic episodes to brain, iliofemoral arteries, or lung. Five of 6 patients with tricuspid valvulitis were cured by antibiotics either with (1) or without excision of the valve. All 12 patients with aortic or mitral valvulitis treated medically died; 11 had unremitting sepsis. Aortic valve replacement and antibiotics were effective in 1. Gentamicin combined with either carbenicillin or chloramphenicol was the most effective treatment regimen.
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PMID:Serratia marcescens endocarditis: a regional illness associated with intravenous drug abuse. 110 90

Electric stimulation of the bladder through eight electrodes was performed in 7 patients suffering from innervation disturbances of various origin. In one case the device had to be removed because of endocarditis and sepsis after 8 months. In 6 cases the result was satisfactory as the patients were capable of emptying their bladder without catheterization. By abolishing vesico-ureteral reflux, recurrent pyelonephritis is eliminated, consequently life expectancy greatly improves. The method is believed to be suitable mainly in cases of peripheral bladder paralysis. In cases of central paralysis, the fibrosis of the bladder neck calls for additional interventions such as transurethral resection.
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PMID:[Bladder stimulation of patients with spinal injuries]. 122 1

We did a retrospective study of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia--from removable foci of infection--treated with short course antimicrobial therapy. Patients with S. aureus endocarditis were excluded from our study. The majority of patients had sepsis from intravascular devices. After removal of the focus of bacteremia, antibiotics were administered for a mean period of 15.2 days. There were no relapses, and no patient developed endocarditis. A 10- to 21-day antibiotic regimen can be curative in S. aureus bacteremia associated with a removable focus of infection.
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PMID:Therapy of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia associated with a removable focus of infection. 127 57

A case of recurrent tricuspid valve endocarditis after surgical closure of ventricular septal defect is presented. Intensive medical treatment lasting nearly ten years completely failed. There were still vegetations attached to the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve with positive cultures (Ps. aeruginosa). Persistent sepsis without signs of heart failure required surgical intervention. Tricuspid valvuloplasty with excision of infected patch was successfully performed. Six months later the patient remained symptomless.
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PMID:[Recurrent bacterial endocarditis with involvement of the tricuspid valve after surgical correction of congenital heart defect]. 128 94

The clinical profile of 28 consecutive patients admitted with infective endocarditis (IE) between 1987 and 1988 was studied. There were 21 males and seven females with a mean age of 24 +/- 11 years. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) was the commonest underlying disease (68%) followed by congenital heart disease (CHD). Mitral regurgitation with aortic regurgitation were the commonest valvular lesions (47%) in those with RHD while ventricular septal defect was the commonest (43%) in those with CHD. A younger age of onset, complicated course and high mortality were seen in these six patients with acute IE. Persistently positive blood cultures during life or at autopsy were obtained in 21%. Strep viridans was the commonest isolate and was often resistant to streptomycin. 2D echocardicgram revealed vegetations in 96% of patients, the aortic valve (39%) being more commonly affected than the mitral valve (11%). ESR of more than 20 mm drop 1st hour (Wintrobe) was seen in 96%. Thrombophlebitis was a common complication of therapy and cloxacillin the commonest drug implicated. A mortality of 21% as a result of refractory congestive heart failure (CHF) (50%), uncontrolled sepsis (33%) and embolic events (17%) was seen. A rising incidence of culture negative IE, combined aortic and mitral valve disease and CHF is noted.
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PMID:Changing spectrum of clinical and laboratory profile of infective endocarditis. 130 28

Enterococci are a frequent cause of hospital-acquired infection, being associated with urinary tract infections, wound sepsis, bacteremia, and endocarditis. The source of infection is usually thought to be endogenous, but some evidence points to cross-infection between patients. A better understanding of the epidemiology of enterococci has been limited by the lack of a good discriminatory typing system. This report describes the application of two DNA-based typing methods to Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium: comparison of restriction fragments from total DNA by conventional electrophoresis and comparison of restriction fragments hybridizing to an rRNA gene probe (ribotyping). Comparison of restriction fragments (from SstI digestion) by conventional electrophoresis was simple and highly discriminatory. The results of analysis of blood culture isolates and of repeat isolates from individual patients are reported. Ribotyping (with BscI digestion) was more applicable at the level of species discrimination.
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PMID:Typing of Enterococcus species by DNA restriction fragment analysis. 131 38


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