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Biomedical subjects

A Primavera

Publications and source records attributed to A Primavera.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

High incidence of erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes in Monza (North Italy) in untreated children with symptoms of acute pharyngo-tonsillitis: an epidemiological and molecular study.

A retrospective analysis of susceptibility data available for Group A streptococcal isolates collected between January 1990 and January 1996 at the Hospital Microbiology Laboratory of Monza (North Italy), showed a sharp rise in the erythromycin resistance rates during the last 3 years. Streptococcus pyogenes resistant to erythromycin accounted for approximately 1% of strains isolated between 1990 and 1992; the percentage then rose from 5% in 1993 to almost 39% in 1995. In January 1996, the resistance rates peaked to 81%. A prospective controlled study performed between March and May of 1996 to determine the percentage of erythromycin-resistant Group A streptococci isolated in Monza from untreated children with acute pharyngo-tonsillitis, gave further confirmation of a high rate of erythromycin resistance (47%) in this area. Molecular characterization by T-serotyping and pulse-field gel electrophoresis analysis of 25 erythromycin-resistant Group A streptococcal isolates, showed a relatively high degree of heterogeneity among these strains, demonstrating that the increased resistance is not caused by the spread of a single clone.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

[Acute iatrogenic myopathy during treatment of status asthmaticus. Our experience and review of the literature].

CASE REPORT: A young man was admitted to the ICU for acute asthmatic respiratory failure. He was sedated with propofol, curarized with pancuronium and put on mechanical ventilation for 15 day because of the persistent asthmatics crisis. Drug therapy for asthma included high-dose corticosteroids. When sedation and paralysis were stopped, the patient, that was fully conscious, showed flaccid quadriplegia. A muscular biopsy showed elective loss of the myosin thick filaments. Electrophysiologic evaluation was compatible with both neurologic or muscular pathology. The evolution of the disease was good; a drop-out performed 5 months later showed a complete motor recovery. DISCUSSION: This case report confirms that in some patients, intensive treatment of status asthmaticus may cause myopathy. Only recently this myopathy has been correlated to an interaction between steroids and neuromuscular blockers. Many experimental and clinical observations suggest a negative interaction between steroids and non-depolarizing curare derivatives. In the case reported here, diagnosis was based on electrophysiologic examination and above all on muscular biopsy. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of an acute toxic myopathy should always be taken into account, considering the high number of patients admitted with respiratory failure requiring steroid treatment and curare administrative for mechanical ventilation. It therefore seems reasonable to reduce steroid therapy as soon as possible with a periodic suspension of curare administration. Curare usage should be critically evaluated. Some basic examination such as serum CPK monitoring should allow early detection of muscular damage.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Aphasic status epilepticus in multiple sclerosis.

Aphasia due to simple partial status epilepticus is rare. We report a case of prolonged mixed aphasia without clouding of consciousness in a patient with an old history (10 years) of multiple sclerosis (MS). We found a clear clinical-EEG correlation with a continuous epileptic pattern in the shape of periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs). Clinical, laboratory and neuroradiological data ruled out possible etiological conditions other than MS and suggested that the development of new subcortical demyelinating lesions might play a critical role in seizure production. These findings, besides the role of PLEDs as an intrinsic feature of the status epilepticus condition, are discussed in relation to the literature.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Molecular epidemiology of enterococci with high-level resistance to aminoglycosides.

DNA-based methodologies are considerably more powerful than other phenotype-based typing systems, providing a finer level of epidemiological discrimination, differentiating both closely and distantly related independent isolates that otherwise may appear as identical. In this study, plasmid analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were used to compare 28 isolates of Enterococci (respectively 13 strains of Enterococcus faecalis and 15 strains of Enterococcus faecium) with high-level resistance to aminoglycosides, isolated in Catania (Italy). Plasmid profile analysis resolved 20 different patterns among 24 plasmid harboring strains; many isolates showed one or two plasmids of the same size, but different plasmid content. Analysis of the PFGE-based RFLP patterns after SmaI digestion of genomic DNA resolved 26 different clones from 28 isolates: particularly, it resolved two different clones from three isolates showing identical plasmid profiles, and it identified as a single clone two isolates exhibiting different plasmid profiles. Thus, on the basis of our PFGE-based RFLP analysis data, we concluded that all the strains included in the study were genetically unrelated with two exceptions.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1994

Observations on the tolerance and the paradoxical effect in enterococci.

Enterococci, already know to be relatively unaffected by several antibiotics due to their inheritant characteristics, are increasingly resistant to some very important groups of drugs, by means of acquisition or exchange of new genetic traits of resistance. Resistance or moderate susceptibility towards penicillin is an interesting characteristic of enterococci, whose low degree of susceptibility to this drug is due to a low affinity for penicillin-binding proteins (PBP). Some strains of enterococci are not killed by the action of this drug but are "tolerant" (MIC/MBC > 32 mg/l). This kind of "resistance", in which the probability of surviving under selective pressure of the drug is increased, is probably linked to the deficiency of the cell's autolytic system. Only rarely does another form of resistance called the "paradoxical effect" appear, in which higher numbers of cells survive at high concentrations than at lower concentrations. In our study the degree of bactericidal activity of some beta-lactams was considered. Our results demonstrate that: i) the paradoxical effect appears more in cultures in exponential phase compared to aged cultures; ii) mutated strains show an increased number of cells that respond paradoxically (the behavior is genetically determined); iii) different beta-lactams induced different degrees of autolysis.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1994

Epileptic seizures in patients with acute catatonic syndrome.

Acute catatonic syndrome is a condition that can be caused by a variety of metabolic, neurological, psychiatric, and toxic conditions, including neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Although ictal catatonia as a manifestation of non-convulsive status epilepticus has been described, reference to the occurrence of seizures in patients with acute catatonic syndrome is anecdotal. Twenty nine patients with acute catatonic syndrome were reviewed to identify patients with seizures after the onset of acute catatonic syndrome. Patients were divided into four diagnostic groups: affective (15), schizophrenic (eight), toxic (two), and organic (four). Seizures occurred in four patients (13.8%): two patients with dystonic seizures had viral encephalitis and schizophrenic disorder respectively; one patient with complex partial seizures had viral encephalitis and one patient with absence status had neuroleptic malignant syndrome. The results indicate the value of EEG in detection of epileptic activity in patients with acute catatonic syndrome, both at onset and in the course of such disturbance, particularly to provide a differential diagnosis between pseudo-seizures and neuroleptic-induced acute dystonia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus as a cause of confusion in later life: a report of 5 cases.

Five patients (4 women, 1 man) presented with an acute confusional episode for the first time between the ages of 53 and 76. Their EEGs showed generalized paroxysmal activity indicating a diagnosis of nonconvulsive generalized status epilepticus (absence status). Two patients had tonic-clonic seizures just before the onset of the status, but none had a history of chronic epilepsy. Three patients had long-standing psychiatric disorders. Treatment with psychotropic drugs and medical illness (vascular disease, metabolic derangement) may have acted as precipitating factors for the status epilepticus in all patients. The diagnosis was never made on admission, since psychiatric history and ictal behavioral manifestations often raised intriguing problems of differential diagnosis. In all cases, only icta; EEG could provide a correct diagnostic assessment.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Focal inhibitory seizures as the presenting sign of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Recurrent episodes of transient neurological dysfunction occurring in a patient with evidence of recent multiple lacunar infarctions were at first diagnosed as transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), but later proved to be due to focal inhibitory seizures. The differential diagnosis between TIAs and partial epileptic seizures in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease may sometimes be difficult in the presence of uncommon clinical manifestations.

Brain Ischemia↗
PubMed1993

Transient global amnesia: a quantified electroencephalographic study.

In 13 patients who experienced transient global amnesia (TGA), quantified electroencephalographic (qEEG) records were carried out within 1 week of the episodes, and compared with those in 13 cases with cerebral transient ischemic attacks (TIA), and 13 normal controls, matched for age and sex. A statistical comparison of the absolute power showed few differences between TGA and TIA patients, and many statistical differences between TGA patients and controls. The qEEG pattern reveals an involvement of the temporo-parietal structures in TGA patients. These findings suggest the presence of subclinical sequelae, after the TGA attack.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Crossed aphasia: analysis of a case with special reference to the nature of the lesion.

We report a case of crossed aphasia in a strongly right-handed woman due to a parieto-occipital tumor in the right hemisphere, documented by CT and MR images. Neuropsychological assessment was conducted on four different occasions: results revealed an uncommon feature in our case, because of the nature of the lesion and the evolution of the clinical picture. These findings are discussed in relation to the literature.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1993

Wernicke-Korsakoff Encephalopathy Following Biliopancreatic Diversion.

Wernicke-Korsakoff disease with sensory-motor neuropathy was diagnosed in three out of a series of 1,663 patients (0.18%), with onset 2, 3 and 5 months after biliopancreatic diversion. Precipitating factors were vomiting, minimal food intake, anorexia, rapid weight loss, and glucose-containing intravenous feeding. Recovery was partial in two and complete in one of the patients. In the early postop, prophylactic thiamine should be given to the patients with excessively limited eating capacity. Larger doses of thiamine should be instituted parenterally either in the case of suspected Wernicke-Korsakoff encephalopathy or before starting feeding for protein malnutrition.

Journal Article↗