Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0040586 (tracheobronchitis)
 449 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

One prediction of the protease-antiprotease hypothesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathogenesis is the appearance of elastin-derived degradation products in the plasmas of affected patients that are due to the breakdown of alveolar interstitial elastin by an excess of elastolytic activity in the lung. We previously demonstrated a significant elevation of plasma elastin-derived peptides (EDP) in subjects with COPD in comparison with asymptomatic smokers with normal spirometry or normal nonsmokers. To better determine the selectivity of the assay for EDP as a marker of COPD, we measured plasma EDP levels in different patient populations. These included subjects with COPD, subjects with diseases that may involve accelerated elastolysis (pneumonia, atherosclerotic vascular disease, and inflammatory arthritis), subjects with diseases hypothesized to involve pulmonary inflammation without elastolysis (asthma and acute tracheobronchitis), asymptomatic smokers with normal spirometry, and healthy, nonsmoking subjects. Mean plasma EDP levels in subjects with COPD were elevated above those in all other subjects (p less than 0.01). The prospective analyses of specificity and sensitivity of plasma EDP levels as markers of COPD gave values of 91 and 65%, respectively. Utilizing receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to assess the diagnostic and screening performance of plasma EDP as a test for COPD (perfect test equals an area under the curve of 1.0), the area under the curve was 0.87, which compares favorably with many widely used clinical tests. These data demonstrate that the assay for plasma EDP is a quantitative, easily measured, and highly specific marker for subjects with COPD.
 ...
PMID:Specificity and sensitivity of the assay for elastin-derived peptides in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 846 8

A prospective study of 161 multiple trauma patients was carried out to determine the incidence, the causative agents, and the outcome of nosocomial respiratory tract infections in this highly selected population. Thirty-eight (23.6 percent) patients developed a nosocomial pneumonia (NP). In addition, there were four superinfections in three patients, representing an incidence of 26 percent (42 of 161). Incidence of NP was significantly greater among comatose patients (42.2 vs 13.3 percent, p less than 0.05). Furthermore, purulent tracheobronchitis was diagnosed in six patients. The causative agent of NP was identified in 36 (85.7 percent) episodes by means of fiberoptic bronchoscopies with protected specimen brush sampling. Staphylococcus aureus (55.8 percent) was the predominant pathogen isolated in multiple trauma patients in coma (Glasgow coma score [GCS] below 9 during a period greater than 24 h), while aerobic Gram-negative bacilli were responsible for the majority of cases in the remaining population studied. The overall mortality rate was 19.8 percent, but only five deaths were related to NP. We conclude that nosocomial respiratory tract infections are a frequent problem in multiple trauma patients, especially in those with GCS below 9, although this complication is associated with a relatively low mortality. Among patients with GCS below 9, S aureus was a frequent finding; consequently, antimicrobial therapy in this population needs to be different than that for the remaining multiple trauma patients with NP.
 ...
PMID:Nosocomial respiratory tract infections in multiple trauma patients. Influence of level of consciousness with implications for therapy. 164 42

Nosocomial pneumonia remains a common complication in patients treated with endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation and continues to have a significant impact on the mortality rate of these patients. Epidemiologic studies have shown that the risk of pneumonia increases with the duration of intubation but that the period of highest risk is the first 2 weeks of therapy. Gram-negative bacteria account for most nosocomial pneumonias in intubated patients, but Staphylococcus aureus may also play a role in what may be a polymicrobial infection. In the most seriously ill individuals, and in those treated with long-term mechanical ventilation, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen. Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation predispose to pneumonia for a variety of reasons (see Fig. 1). The endotracheal tube can have direct effects on the airway that result in a reduction in local host defenses. Thus, mucosal injury can reduce mucociliary function, while upper airway defenses are bypassed and the effectiveness of cough is reduced. Indirectly, intubation can result in an enhanced capacity of tracheobronchial cells to bind gram-negative bacteria, an effect that favors airway colonization and pneumonia. The injury to the airway can create binding sites for bacteria in the basement membrane of the bronchial tree and the stimulation of the secretion of mucus, which then stagnates and can create potential sites for bacterial adherence. The endotracheal tube also enhances bacterial entry to the lung by serving as a reservoir for bacteria to remain sequestered, safe from host defenses. Respiratory therapy devices can allow bacteria to proliferate and can then introduce them into the patient if not handled properly. Finally, patients who are ill enough to require intubation also have disease-associated impairments in systemic host defense, which add to the impairments caused by the use of an artificial airway. The host defense impairments that occur in mechanically ventilated patients can lead to respiratory tract infection in the form of either febrile tracheobronchitis or pneumonia. The diagnosis of pneumonia in intubated patients is difficult and controversial. It can be made by either clinical criteria or microbiologic criteria, the latter by using a bronchoscopically directed protected specimen brush. Therapy of pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients is not always successful, and systemic antibiotics may need to be supplemented by topical antimicrobials. No clearly effective prophylactic strategy currently exists, but our understanding of pneumonia pathogenesis has led to some promising directions. As more data are collected, inhaled antibiotics, selective digestive decontamination, and enhancement of host defenses by cytokines and pre-formed antibodies may emerge as useful approaches.
 ...
PMID:The impact of tracheal intubation on host defenses and risks for nosocomial pneumonia. 193 53

Pulmonary infections are the most life-threatening infections in mechanically ventilated patients. Methods to avoid these infections by prophylactic systemic or local administration of antibiotics may promote resistance and selection of distinct groups of pathogens. In mechanically ventilated patients we studied the impact of early diagnosis and specific therapy on the prevention of pulmonary infections. Due to the very short interval between colonization and infection, daily microscopic and microbiologic examinations of tracheobronchial secretions proved to be essential for early and successful therapy and even prevention of pulmonary infections. PATIENTS AND METHODS. The present study comprised a total of 190 patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit who required mechanical ventilation for a period of at least 48 h: 56 were admitted for multiple trauma; 38 had peritonitis; and the remainder had postoperative complications such as renal failure, cardiac problems, septicemia or pneumonia. Multitraumatized patients (16.5 days) and those with peritonitis (13.8 days) needed the most extensive ventilatory support. After admission antibiotic therapy was started with a second-generation cephalosporin or amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Further antibiotic treatment was directed strictly against the isolated pathogens. Tracheobronchial secretions were monitored daily by microscopy and cultures. Microscopic evaluation was essential to discriminate between colonization and inflammation, and often indicated the infective agent. If infections were suspected provisional antibiograms were performed on the material. This procedure allowed a specific antibiotic treatment to be initiated 8-12 h later. In patients with pulmonary infections, additional bronchoscopic material was taken in order to correlate these findings with those gained from the tracheobronchial secretions. RESULTS. In 85% of cases massive colonization of the trachea with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, enterobacteria, Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumoniae resulted in pulmonary infections 24-48 h later. The reduced virulence of Pseudomonas species (non-aeruginosa) and Acinetobacter species is reflected by an infection rate of 50% and an extended period of time to establish an infection (2-4 days). Only 30% of patients highly contaminated with Candida developed pulmonary infections after 3-6 days. A fair correlation (86%) was found between pathogens isolated in tracheobronchial secretions and bronchoscopic material. In the population studied, 68 patients (35.7%) developed pulmonary infections, 32 of them pneumonia (16.8%), and the others purulent tracheobronchitis with fever. Both groups were treated with antibiotics. Patients with multiple trauma, often accompanied by lung contusion, were most frequently affected. In 59 patients (87%) pulmonary infections were treated successfully by specific antibiotic therapy; 9 patients died so rapidly, that the pulmonary complication could not account for the fatal outcome. In 38 patients with massive contamination of the tracheobronchial system by enterobacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staph. aureus, progression from colonization to infection was prevented by early administration of specific therapy. CONCLUSIONS. Because pulmonary infections in most cases arise very soon after pathogens have gained access to the tracheobronchial system daily monitoring of tracheobronchial secretions is required for early initiation of specific therapy.
 ...
PMID:[Microbiological care of ventilated intensive care patients. Feasibility of diagnosis and therapy of pulmonary infection]. 195 44

Cancer of the head and neck is a common cancer worldwide. The majority of patients present with locally advanced disease. Recently a great deal of improvement has been made in multimodality therapy of this disease, warranting more careful consideration of factors affecting quality of life, disease course, and treatment. Infection is clearly a factor. Analysis of 662 hospital admissions of 169 head and neck cancer patients was performed. A definite infection was documented in 86 febrile episodes, pneumonia contributed to 40%, bacteremia to 13%, skin and soft tissue infection to 12%, and tracheobronchitis to 10%. Among the evaluated risk factors, foreign bodies, specifically intravenous (IV) cannulae and gastrostomy tubes, race, performance status, alcohol intake, and nutritional status were statistically significant variables that predicted for or were associated with infection. Infection contributed to 44% of the deaths.
 ...
PMID:The role of infection in the morbidity and mortality of patients with head and neck cancer undergoing multimodality therapy. 198 64

Ether link cleavage (ELC) of T4 yielding diiodotyrosine (DIT) has recently been shown in vitro to be the major pathway of T4 metabolism in phagocytosing leukocytes. To evaluate this pathway in vivo and the possible clinical relevance of DIT measurements in diseases with increased leukocyte activity, radioimmunological studies on serum levels of DIT and other thyroid parameters were performed in 125 critically ill patients classified into 3 groups with bacterial infections according to the severity of infection and 1 group without infections. While the pattern of iodothyronine and TSH levels typical for severe nonthyroidal disorders, i.e. decreased total T3 and elevated rT3, normal or decreased total T4 and TSH, and normal free T4, was found in all four groups of intensive care patients studied, elevated serum DIT was observed only in those patients whose clinical course was complicated by severe bacterial infections. Serial measurements revealed a close temporal connection between the infection phase and increased DIT levels. Median values and 16th to 84th percentile ranges (in parentheses) of serum DIT (normal range, 0.02-0.55 nmol/L) were as follows: sepsis, 1.38 (0.32-5.14); severe nonsystemic infections such as peritonitis and abscesses, 3.84 (0.24-17.2); moderate infections such as pneumonia and tracheobronchitis, 0.44 (0.18-1.16); and critical illness without infections, 0.14 (0.08-0.30) nmol/L. These elevations of circulating DIT could neither be correlated with changes in renal function nor attributed to drug effects. The results of the present study do not allow any definitive conclusions to be made about the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of increased serum DIT levels in infections. Apart from this open question, DIT appears to be a relatively specific serum parameter for the presence and course of severe bacterial inflammations. Its measurement could provide useful clinical information, particularly for monitoring the time course of deep-seated infections.
 ...
PMID:Elevated serum diiodotyrosine (DIT) in severe infections and sepsis: DIT, a possible new marker of leukocyte activity. 200 22

Branhamella catarrhalis is now recognized as an important cause of lower respiratory tract infections, especially in the elderly. In most instances, pathogenicity is presumed by recovery of the organism in a sputum culture, a method that is less than conclusive. In order to better diagnose B. catarrhalis infections, an enzyme-linked immunoassay has been developed using P-protein as antigen to measure antibodies to B. catarrhalis. In 17 elderly patients with B. catarrhalis pneumonia and 12 with tracheobronchitis, acute-phase serum antibody titers to P-protein were found to be significantly increased when compared with those of normal subjects (both p less than 0.02). There were no differences in antibody titers between patients with pneumonia and tracheobronchitis. Antibody titers of convalescent-phase sera increased over those of acute-phase sera in 46 percent of pneumonia patients and 50 percent of tracheobronchitis patients. The results demonstrated that lower respiratory tract infections with B. catarrhalis promote a significant elevation in antibody response to P-protein of B. catarrhalis.
 ...
PMID:Antibody response to P-protein in patients with Branhamella catarrhalis infections. 211 Oct 89

The nature of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) in hospitalized children and of the associated viral agents was assessed in a study of 601 children less than 5 years old over a 24-month period. Of these children, 80% were less than 24 months of age and the ratio of boys to girls was 1.7:1. Pneumonia (86.5% of cases) was the most frequently observed clinical manifestation. Shedding of virus was detected in 21.1% of the children; the highest rate occurred in infants 0-5 months old (27%) as compared with a rate of only 12.5% in children 25-60 months old. Virus was detected in 33.3%, 32.8%, 21.2%, and 20% of the cases of tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and croup, respectively. Among the viruses detected, 78% were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (91% of infections with this virus occurred in children less than 2 years old) and 14.4% were influenza virus types A and B. Of the RSV infections, 61% occurred in infants less than 1 year old. The case-fatality rate was 6.8% overall and was 4.8% in virus-associated cases. No consistent pattern of seasonal occurrence of viral infections was discerned. RSV was detected throughout the year, with increased prevalence from January to April.
 ...
PMID:Acute lower respiratory tract infection due to virus among hospitalized children in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 217 37

The type of lung disease caused by metal compounds depends on the nature of the offending agent, its physicochemical form, the dose, exposure conditions and host factors. The fumes or gaseous forms of several metals, e.g. cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), nickel carbonyl (Nl(CO)4, zinc chloride (ZnCl2), vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), may lead to acute chemical pneumonitis and pulmonary oedema or to acute tracheobronchitis. Metal fume fever, which may follow the inhalation of metal fumes e.g. zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and many others, is a poorly understood influenza-like reaction, accompanied by an acute self-limiting neutrophil alveolitis. Chronic obstructive lung disease may result from occupational exposure to mineral dusts, including probably some metallic dusts, or from jobs involving the working of metal compounds, such as welding. Exposure to cadmium may lead to emphysema. Bronchial asthma may be caused by complex platinum salts, nickel, chromium or cobalt, presumably on the basis of allergic sensitization. The cause of asthma in aluminium workers is unknown. It is remarkable that asthma induced by nickel (Ni) or chromium (Cr) is apparently infrequent, considering their potency and frequent involvement as dermal sensitizers. Metallic dusts deposited in the lung may give rise to pulmonary fibrosis and functional impairment, depending on the fibrogenic potential of the agent and on poorly understood host factors. Inhalation of iron compounds causes siderosis, a pneumoconiosis with little or no fibrosis. Hard metal lung disease is a fibrosis characterized by desquamative and giant cell interstitial pneumonitis and is probably caused by cobalt, since a similar disease has been observed in workers exposed to cobalt in the absence of tungsten carbide. Chronic beryllium disease is a fibrosis with sarcoid-like epitheloid granulomas and is presumably due to a cell-mediated immune response to beryllium. Such a mechanism may be responsible for the pulmonary fibrosis occasionally found in subjects exposed to other metals e.g. aluminium (Al), titanium (Ti), rare earths. The proportion of lung cancer attributable to occupation is around 15%, with exposure to metals being frequently incriminated. Underground mining of e.g. uranium or iron is associated with a high incidence of lung cancer, as a result of exposure to radon. At least some forms of arsenic, chromium and nickel are well established lung carcinogens in humans. There is also evidence for increased lung cancer mortality in cadmium workers and in iron or steel workers.
 ...
PMID:Metal toxicity and the respiratory tract. 217 66

A comparative, prospective study was made of the incidence of infection in the lower airway (purulent tracheobronchitis and pneumonia) in long-term patients who were mechanically ventilated due to respiratory failure of noninfectious origin. Twenty-eight patients were randomly allocated into a study group (A, n = 13) in which a nonabsorbable paste containing 2% tobramycin, 2% amphotericin B, and 2% polymyxin E was administered locally to decontaminate the oropharynx, and a control group (B, n = 15) in which a paste without antibiotics was also applied to the oropharynx. We studied the effectiveness of the prophylactic technique in decontaminating the oropharynx and trachea of organisms potentially pathogenic for the respiratory system. Decontamination was successful in ten of 13 patients in group A vs. one of 15 patients in group B (p less than .001). The results demonstrated a lower rate of infection in the lower respiratory tract in the study group (three patients with tracheobronchitis and no pneumonias) than in the control group (three patients with tracheobronchitis and 11 with pneumonia), the difference between both being highly significant (p less than .001). Two (15%) patients in group B developed sepsis of pulmonary origin. None of the patients on prophylactic treatment developed this complication. Although the overall mortality was similar in both groups (group A, 30% vs. group B, 33%), we believe that infection contributed to a great extent to the death of two of five patients in group B. We conclude that nosocomial pneumonia, which is a frequent complication in critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation, could be prevented by local application of nonabsorbable antibiotics to the oropharynx.
 ...
PMID:Prevention of nosocomial lung infection in ventilated patients: use of an antimicrobial pharyngeal nonabsorbable paste. 222 93


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>