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

Varicella causes a mild, self-limiting childhood disease that may reactivate years later as shingles. In immunocompromised patients with altered cell mediated immunity, and rarely in healthy individuals, varicella results in a life-threatening infection. The antiviral drug, acyclovir, substantially reduces the mortality and risk of severe disease in these groups of patients. Early commencement of acyclovir is recommended for children with both varicella and altered cell mediated immunity, newborns during the first 2 weeks of life, preterm infants in the neonatal nursery, and severe varicella or shingles (including ocular zoster) in any patient, as well as during pregnancy. Acyclovir may be considered in children with serious cardiopulmonary disease or chronic skin disorders where varicella may exacerbate the underlying disease or increase the risk of secondary bacterial sepsis. Acyclovir, however, is not recommended for healthy individuals without severe disease, as a prophylactic agent against varicella, for asthmatics receiving aerosolized or low-dose oral steroids and/or as treatment of the post-varicella syndromes. When acyclovir is prescribed it should be given intravenously to those with severe disease, those at risk of dissemination and in children younger than 2 years of age.
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PMID:Acyclovir for the prevention and treatment of varicella zoster in children, adolescents and pregnancy. 882 37

Thrombosis of upper extremity veins and superior vena cava (SVC) can occur in patients with indwelling central venous catheters. Contrary to earlier reports, pulmonary embolism (PE) can result from these thrombi, especially when they are attached to catheters (sleeve thrombi) in contrast to venous wall (mural thrombi). Removal of catheters may be required when sepsis occurs or to reduce risk of sepsis when lines have been left in for several days. We describe two patients with thrombi in SVC related to central venous catheters in whom transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was performed during catheter removal to monitor for thrombus dislodgement. TEE may have a role in showing thrombus dislodgement and embolization during removal of venous catheters complicated by SVC thrombi. Direct visualization of thrombus dislodgement may aid in early diagnosis of PE because signs and symptoms of PE are often missed or mistaken for underlying cardiopulmonary disease. TEE may also play a role in implementing appropriate treatment in patients with PE who show right ventricular strain.
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PMID:Transesophageal echocardiography during removal of central venous catheter associated with thrombus in superior vena cava. 901 95

Neonatal respiratory distress is a common problem confronting family physicians. Although respiratory distress may represent a benign, self-limited process, it may also be the first sign of sepsis or serious cardiopulmonary disease. Because it is crucial to differentiate the two, we offer a practical approach to the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress at community hospitals. Our method, the Rule of 2 Hours, is based on readily accessible clinical findings. We believe it will help physicians detect babies at risk for serious problems, but will not result in unnecessary referral of neonates that are simply adapting to extrauterine life.
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PMID:Neonatal respiratory distress in the community hospital: when to transport, when to keep. 956 69

Sparganosis has a world wide distribution, but only a few patients have pulmonary involvement. The term sparganosis is defined as an infection by the larva of parasitic tapeworms of Spirometra species. We present here-in a patient, who was infected by this parasite and had pulmonary symptoms. The chest roentgenography revealed diffuse multiple nodular infiltration with cavitations. Bronchoscopy with a transbronchial lung biopsy was nondiagnostic. Finally, open lung biopsy was performed, and the histologic examination revealed plerocercoid larva of sparganum. The patient was treated with mebendazole 40 mg/kg/day for 6 months and his symptoms and pulmonary function improved. In the 5th year of follow-up, he presented with more progressive dyspnea and developed cor pulmonale, and finally died from pneumonia with sepsis. The objective of this report was to present a rare manifestation of sparganosis and it's clinical course. Currently, there is no known effective treatment for this disease.
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PMID:Pulmonary sparganosis: a case report with five years follow-up. 1128 92

Acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) is a very common condition, which presents with deteriorating sputum production and dyspnoea in a patient with pre-existing COPD or chronic bronchitis. As these symptoms are relatively non-specific and also the presenting feature of a wide range of other conditions, the physician should carefully consider the differential diagnosis before deciding on whether or not a patient indeed has AECB. The differential diagnosis can be summarised as pneumonia, pneumothorax, cardiac failure/cor pulmonale, bronchiectasis, asthma, tuberculosis, sinusitis and other forms of upper respiratory tract sepsis, diffuse panbronchiolitis, lung cancer, gastro-oesophageal reflux, the presence of a foreign body in the airway, melioidosis, and lung abscess. This article aims to discuss these conditions, with brief presentation of clinical cases, in the evaluation of differential diagnosis of AECB.
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PMID:Solutions for difficult diagnostic cases of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. 1158 3

Vasculo-occlusive crisis with organ infarctions occur in sickle cell disease (SCD). However, heart infarction is not commonly reported. We reviewed 19 cases of documented myocardial infarction (MI) in SCD patients. The true incidence may be higher because the diagnosis was often made at autopsy and was overshadowed during life by other musculoskeletal symptoms. Electrocardiography is frequently unhelpful. Skeletal muscle enzymes confound serum cardiac enzyme interpretation. The mechanism of MI in SCD is not exactly known, as coronary angiography is usually normal. MI frequently occurs in association with hypoxia, cor pulmonale, anemia, sepsis, acidosis, and renal failure. The aim of this article is to increase awareness for this complication and to prompt prospective studies to look at treatment strategies for myocardial infarction in SCD.
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PMID:Myocardial infarction in sickle cell disease. 1207 25

A prospective, nationwide, laboratory-based surveillance of invasive group A streptococcal infections was conducted in the Netherlands from 1992 through 1996. Clinical and demographic data were obtained and all isolates were T/M typed. All noninvasive group A streptococcal isolates were registered from 1994 through 1996. A total of 880 patients with invasive streptococcal disease were identified. The annual incidence was found to be 2.2 per 100,000. Predominant M types were M1 (21%), M3 (11%), M6 (5%), M12 (5%), and M28 (8%). Particular age and M-type distributions were observed in different clinical entities. The case-fatality rate was 18% overall, but it reached 59% among cases of toxic shock-like syndrome. Older age, necrotizing fasciitis, sepsis without focus, pneumonia, infection with type M1 or M3 strains, and underlying cardiopulmonary disease were associated with fatality. A total of 10,105 patients with noninvasive group A streptococcal disease were registered. These patients differed significantly from patients with invasive disease with regard to age distribution and primary foci of infection.
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PMID:Epidemiological features of invasive and noninvasive group A streptococcal disease in the Netherlands, 1992-1996. 1516 57

The diagnosis of heart failure in the outpatient setting can be difficult. A rapid assay for B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been advocated for the diagnosis of heart failure, using a single cutoff of 100 pg/mL. BNP is produced by both the right and left cardiac ventricles and is elevated in a variety of conditions, including heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale, pulmonary embolism, left ventricular hypertrophy, renal failure, circulatory overload, acute coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation, lung cancer, and sepsis. This multitude of causes of BNP elevation imposes limits on its diagnostic use for heart failure. The literature on the use of BNP testing for diagnosis of heart failure is reviewed, and improved guidelines for its interpretation are suggested.
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PMID:B-type natriuretic peptide for diagnosis of heart failure in emergency department patients: a critical appraisal. 1593 Apr 11

Left ventricular end diastolic (LVEDP) and mean right atrial (RAP) pressures were recorded simultaneously in 30 patients with shock (14 acute myocardial infarction, 10 acute pulmonary embolism or severe bronchopulmonary disease, and 6 sepsis). Myocardial infarction was characterized by a predominant increase in LVEDP, pulmonary disease by a predominant increase in RAP, and sepsis by a normal relationship between LVEDP and RAP. In all three groups a significant positive correlation was noted between RAP and LVEDP, with the regression line in cor pulmonale deviated significantly toward the RAP axis and the regression line in myocardial infarction exhibiting a zero RAP intercept at an elevated LVEDP.Low cardiac outputs with elevated LVEDP in myocardial infarction indicated severe left ventricular failure. Low outputs with elevated RAP in cor pulmonale were consistent with right ventricular overload. Although cardiac outputs often were normal in sepsis, low outputs with elevated cardiac filling pressures in some patients were consistent with a hemodynamic or humoral-induced generalized depression of cardiac performance.Vasoconstrictor and inotropic drugs often produced a functional disparity between the two ventricles, with the gradient between LVEDP and RAP increasing, apparently because of an increase in left ventricular work or an inadequacy of left ventricular oxygen delivery. Acute plasma volume expansion with dextran in patients with pulmonary vascular disease resulted in a somewhat more rapid rise in RAP than in LVEDP. In septic and myocardial infarction shock, however, LVEDP and RAP usually rose proportionally, with the absolute rise of LVEDP surpassing that of RAP. Although the absolute level of the central venous pressure thus may not be a reliable indicator of left ventricular function in shock, changes in venous pressure during acute plasma volume expansion should serve as a fairly safe guide to changes in LVEDP.
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PMID:Studies in clinical shock and hypotension: VI. Relationship between left and right ventricular function. 1669 56

The expected cost explosion in transfusion medicine (increasing imbalance between donors and potential recipients, treatment of transfusion-associated complications) increases the socio-economic significance of specific institutional transfusion programs. In this context the estimated use of the patient's physiologic tolerance to anemia enables 1) the tolerance of larger blood losses (loss of "diluted blood"), 2) the onset of transfusion to the time after surgical control of bleeding to be delayed and 3) the perioperative collection of autologous red blood cells. The present review article summarizes the mechanisms, influencing factors and limits of this natural tolerance to anemia and deduces the indication for perioperative red blood cell transfusion. Under strictly controlled conditions (anesthesia, normovolemia, complete muscular relaxation, hyperoxemia, mild hypothermia) extremely low hemoglobin concentrations [Hb <3 g/dl (<1.86 mmol/l)] are tolerated without transfusion by individuals with no cardiopulmonary disease. In the clinical routine these situations are limited to borderline situations e.g. unexpected massive blood losses in Jehovah's Witnesses or unexpected shortcomings in blood supply. The current recommendations coincide to the effect that perioperative red blood cell transfusion 1) is unnecessary up to a Hb concentration of 10 g/dl (6.21 mmol/l) even in older patients with cardiopulmonary comorbidity and 2) is only recommended in cases of Hb <6 g/dl (<3.72 mmol/l) in otherwise healthy subjects including pregnant women and children. Critically ill patients with multiple trauma and sepsis do not seem to benefit from transfusions up to Hb concentrations >9 g/dl (>5.59 mmol/l). In cases of massive hemorrhaging and diffuse bleeding disorders the maintenance of a Hb concentration of 10 g/dl (6.21 mmol/l) seems to contribute to stabilization of coagulation.
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PMID:[Tolerance to perioperative anemia. Mechanisms, influencing factors and limits]. 1703 35


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