Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0392680 (shortness of breath)
 5,217 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

During the winter months 1974/75 we were able to observe a number of unusual respiratory tract infections particularly in children over 6 years of age which appeared as pneumonias. Characteristic clinical findings included a dry, hacky cough, refractive to the usual antitussives, starting 1--2 weeks prior to admission, fever up to 104, malaise, headache, anorexia, shortness of breath and cyanosis. Several Pts were treated prior to admission with a number of antibiotics and failed to respond. Laboratory findings showed a peripheral polymorphonuclear leucocytosis with toxic granulations of neutrophiles. A sedimentation rate above 40 in the first hour occurred in most Pts. X Ray of the lung revealed a characteristic mottled appearance with patchy infiltrations, atelectasis and nodular densities. Frequently a shift of the mediastinum towards the infiltrate was seen. One of the hallmarks on physical examination was the discrepancy between the severity of the clinical illness and the paucity of physical findings. Decreased breath sounds over affected lung areas were often the only findings on auscultation; find rales, rhonchi or dullness on percussion were less often heard. The combination of a typical history, physical examination, laboratory tests and X Ray findings enabled us to make a presumptive clinical diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumonia before serologic test results were available and to start with the appropriate antibiotic (Erythromycin, Tetracycline) early in the course of the disease. Complement fixation tests with a titer of 1 : 20 and a fourfold rise over the next two weeks or an initial titer of 1 : 80 and above were considered significant for acute disease.
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PMID:[Mycoplasma pneumonias in childhood (author's transl)]. 83 54

Panic disorder, a severe anxiety disorder, affects 1-2% of the general population, mostly women 20-40 years old. A 29-year-old married white women with no children presented with an 18-month history of panic attacks. Episodes of abrupt anxiety lasted 5-20 minutes and occurred 3-4 times per week accompanied by rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, and a fear of losing control. She was evaluated by a cardiologist several months earlier for episodic tachycardia, but the tests were normal. She was taking .5 mg of lorazepam po 2-3 times per month, which relieved her anxiety. Her only other medication was 1 tablet/day of Triphasal oral contraceptive (OC). She was started on treatment with desipramine 10 mg, and the dose gradually increased to 60 mg/day which she was unable to tolerate because of marked anorexia; lorazepam .5 mg bid and 10.5-mg tablet p.r.n. was continued to address excess activation secondary to the tricyclic depressant. She had changed from a constant dose OC (Lo/Ovral) to a triphasic preparation (Triphasil) 6 months prior to the onset of her panic attacks. The OC was halted, and she has experienced no subsequent panic attacks or avoidance behaviors during 2 years of follow-up. In the 2nd case a 39-year-old married white woman with 3 children presented with a 3-year history of panic attacks. She was given Ortho-Novum 7/7/7 1 tablet/day for about 8 months prior to her 1st panic attack, which occurred while she was driving. Her medications were clorazepate 3.75 mg b.i. d. and Ortho-Novum 7/7/7 1 tablet g.d. for 21 days of each month; she had been taking both since October 1984. Her father and brother had exhibited some driving avoidance behaviors. Because the triphasic OC preparation possible precipitated her panic disorder with agoraphobia, she was changed to Ortho-Novum 1/35 OC which has markedly improved her anxiety for 2 years now.
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PMID:Oral contraceptives and panic disorder. 759 8

A 63-year-old white woman with a history of hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented to the emergency room with worsening shortness of breath, anorexia, coughing, increased thirst, and leg edema of two weeks' duration. Medications included lisinopril 10 mg/d, which had been started six weeks earlier, sustained-release theophylline 300 mg q12h, and an albuterol inhaler. The lisinopril was discontinued on admission. Serum sodium concentration was 109 mmol/L; the osmolality of the blood and of the urine were 253 mOsmol and 438 mOsmol, respectively, with a specific gravity of 1.025 and a urine sodium of 17 mmol/L. The hyponatremia initially was considered to be the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion in response to the patient's suspected pneumonia. Due to worsening blood pressure, lisinopril was restarted and the serum sodium concentration dropped from 134 to 126 mmol/L. Evaluation of the patient's hyponatremia included assessment of thyroid, adrenal, hepatic, and cardiac function that were within normal limits. The patient was discharged on the following medications: sustained-release theophylline 300 mg tid, prednisone 10 mg/d, albuterol inhaler 2 puffs q6h, and sustained-release verapamil 240 mg/d for blood pressure control. Her serum sodium concentration has remained between 135 and 140 mmol/L during hospitalizations for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and for pneumonias 10 and 12 months after discharge.
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PMID:Severe hyponatremia: an association with lisinopril? 165 42

Planning terminal care for patients with malignant neoplasms is difficult, in part, because accurate measures of prognosis have not been defined. Using data from the National Hospice Study, we examined the correlation of 14 easily assessable clinical symptoms with survival in patients with terminal cancer. Performance status was the most important clinical factor in estimating survival time, but five other symptoms had independent predictive value as well (shortness of breath, problems eating or anorexia, trouble swallowing, dry mouth, and weight loss). We generated four parametric accelerated time survival models to estimate survival in patients with combinations of these symptoms and validated the log-normal model on the entire data set. This model was unaffected by patient age, sex, primary tumor type, or site. Our findings illustrate the value of biologically "soft" clinical data in predicting survival in patients with terminal cancer. The prevalence of similar symptoms among patients with cancer of various primary and metastatic sites also supports the concept of a common final clinical pathway in patients with advanced malignant neoplasms.
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PMID:Clinical symptoms and length of survival in patients with terminal cancer. 338 3

An epidemiologic study was designed to investigate the increasing number of cases of canine blastomycosis being reported in Wisconsin. From January 1980 through July 1982, 200 cases of canine blastomycosis from 39 Wisconsin counties were examined to assess epidemiologic and environmental aspects of this disease. Based on a survey of 176 dog owners, principal disease characteristics for canine blastomycosis were anorexia, lethargy, shortness of breath, chronic cough, and weight loss. The greatest number of cases of canine blastomycosis was in the northwest, north central, northeast, central, and southeast regions of Wisconsin. The northeast and central regions were determined to be new enzootic areas. Sporting breeds accounted for the largest percentage of cases among the various breeds of dogs in Wisconsin. Most of the affected dogs were 3 years old or younger and there was no apparent sexual predilection. Canine blastomycosis was diagnosed more frequently from late spring through late fall. Enzootic areas, except for the southeast region of Wisconsin, were located where the soil was sandy and acid. The results of this study suggested a possible association of enzootic areas with waterways, especially impoundments.
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PMID:Epidemiologic study of canine blastomycosis in Wisconsin. 358 82

A patient with malignant ascites refractory to conservative and conventional therapy underwent peritoneovenous shunt. The shunt provided palliation for 7 months with relief of nausea, vomiting, and anorexia and with decrease of weight and abdominal girth. There was no need for repeated paracenteses, which had been required before shunting. The patient's strength increased. However, increasing shortness of breath developed approximately 6 to 7 months after insertion of the shunt. The shunt was associated with extensive metastatic dissemination of peritoneal mesothelioma to both lungs. It is suggested that peritoneal mesothelioma is a contraindication for peritoneovenous shunt.
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PMID:Peritoneovenous shunt for intractable malignant ascites. A single case report of metastatic peritoneal mesothelioma implanted via LeVeen shunt. 620 8

A brief report on the clinical studies of schistosomiasis japonica at Langko village in the Lindu lake area was given. The studies consisted of stool surveys, COPT, evaluation of the signs and symptoms of schistosomiasis, determination of the liver and spleen enlargement as well as the disease index and the clinical gradient. It seemed that the stool examinations as well as the COPT were considered sufficient, accurate and practical for mass surveys. The result of evaluation of the signs and symptoms of schistosomiasis at Lindu lake area showed that dermatitis, dysentry, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, weakness, shortness of breath, distension of the abdomen, melena, icterus, and hepatomegaly were found to be significantly different between the schistosomiasis group and the control group. This finding was almost similar to the findings reported by Billings et al. (1946) and Pesigan et al. (1958), only the frequencies of occurrence were different. The clinical gradient of schistosomiasis at Lindu lake area was mostly of the mild type of the disease.
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PMID:Clinical study of Indonesian schistosomiasis at Lindu lake area, Central Sulawesi. 653 66

Praziquantel (2-cyclohexylcarbonyl-1,2,3,6,7,11b-hexahydro-4H-pyrazino[2,1-a]++ +isoquinolin- 4-one, EMBAY 8440, Biltricide) has been used in 4853 patients with Opisthorchis viverrini infection. 786 patients were treated as inpatients with extensive clinical evaluation and the rest were out-patients. A cure rate (evaluated with 5 faecal samples) of 100% was obtained in groups given 6 X 25 mg/kg on 2 days and 3 X 25 mg/kg on 1 day, while in groups given 2 X 25 mg/kg, 1 X 25 mg/kg and 1 X 40 mg/kg all on 1 day the cure rates were 88, 44 and 91%, respectively. With one sample evaluation the parasitological cure rate was 96% in further 96 patients excreting the geometric mean (GM) of 5394 eggs per gram (EPG) and receiving 1 X 40 mg/kg. Another 68 patients with an egg output of 26044 (GM/EPG) and treated with 1 X 50 mg/kg showed a cure rate of 97% by similar evaluation. Side effects were mild and transient and were more frequent in higher dosage groups. They included anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, epigastric pain, rumbling in the abdomen, diarrhoea, lassitude, myalgia, headache, dizziness, sleeplessness, sleepiness, "hot sensation", shortness of breath, and skin rash in a few cases. Headache (30.7%) was most common in the 6 X 25 mg/kg group. In 53 patients with severe jaundice the side effects were similar. There was no evidence of toxicity. Remarkable was one patient treated with 1 X 50 mg/kg who expelled 5636 O. viverrini worms, most of which were elongated and damaged. When a single dose is prescribed it should be given at bed time to reduce the side effect of sedation.
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PMID:Opisthorchis viverrini: clinical experience with praziquantel in Hospital for Tropical Diseases. 654 86

In order to study functional as well as anatomical aspects of various internal organs, SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography) has been used extensively for evaluation of these organs. For SPECT study, intravenous injection of radioactive substances such as technetium-99m (20 millicuries) & thallium-201 chloride (3 millicuries) is commonly used. Although the physical half-life of thallium-201 chloride is 73 hours, its biological half-life is often more than 3.5 times that. Following intravenous injection of thallium-201 chloride it is concentrated in the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, thyroid gland, testes or ovaries, and then eventually decays to mercury. Because of its relatively long physical & biological half-lives, thallium-201 chloride may produce mild radiation injury while it remains radioactive. Similar injuries may be induced by technetium-99m (often used for brain SPECT), which radiates Gamma rays (140 KeV), but since its physical half-life is only 6 hours, the side effects are not as significant as those of thallium-201 chloride. Since the main component of thallium-201 chloride radiation is X-ray (68-82 KeV), which consists of photons with a very short wavelength and a high penetrating power, prolonged exposure can induce electromagnetic field-induced injury. As a previous study of the principal author on electromagnetic field exposure indicated, electromagnetic field-induced injury causes the change of L-amino acids to D-amino acids. 2 days after SPECT study of the heart with intravenous injection of thallium-201 chloride, the principal author experienced shortness of breath, loss of appetite, dizziness, fever, and general malaise within the week, and found a progressively significant increase in D-glutamic acid and decrease in L-glutamic acid peaking 2 weeks after the initial injection but lasting for many weeks after in organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, thyroid gland & testes, where radioactive substances had accumulated and radiation was at an average of about 400 counts/min. Even 2 months after the initial injection, the abnormal ratio of D-amino acids and L-amino acids had not returned to normal (in the radiation exposed heart, L-amino acids: 6 mg/dl with D-amino acids: 5 mg/dl; normal tissue, L-amino acids: 10 mg/dl with D-amino acids < 1 mg/dl). The principal author tried to find a safe method of reducing possible radiation injury and accelerating the elimination of the already deposited mercury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Radiation injury & mercury deposits in internal organs as a result of thallium-201 chloride intravenous injection for SPECT imaging; additional biochemical information obtained in the images of organs from SPECT or PET scans; & potential injury due to radiation exposure during long distance flights. 749 50

Subcutaneous administration of low doses of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on an out-patient basis has been reported not to significantly compromise the response frequency compared to intravenous IL-2 in patients with renal cell carcinoma and melanoma. As part of an ongoing program to develop a biotherapeutic concept in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC) we studied the clinical effects of such a regimen in 15 patients with metastatic CRC. The daily dose of IL-2 varied between 4.8-14.4 x 10(6) U/m2 and of IFN-alpha between 3-6 x 10(6) U/m2. The cycle length was 6 weeks. The course was repeated every 8 weeks until disease progression. Maximum 4 cycles were administered. Maintenance therapy was given to responding patients once a week every month. No patient showed a major response (CR or PR). Six patients had a stable disease ranging from 3 months to 18 months with a median duration time of 5 months. The median survival of all patients was 13 months. The main adverse reactions were fever, chills, anorexia and shortness of breath. No treatment related deaths occurred. 6/14 patients developed abnormal concentration of serum levels of thyroid hormones. It is concluded that the present treatment schedule using IL-2 and IFN-alpha in advanced CRC seemed not to be of clinical benefit.
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PMID:Subcutaneous interleukin-2 and alpha-interferon in advanced colorectal carcinoma. A phase II study. 778 Apr 87


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