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Biomedical subjects

A Rivero

Publications and source records attributed to A Rivero.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Rose Bengal plate agglutination and counterimmunoelectrophoresis tests on spinal fluid in the diagnosis of Brucella meningitis.

Rose Bengal and counterimmunoelectrophoresis, two tests that detect antibodies against different structural antigens, when carried out on spinal fluid permitted rapid diagnosis of human Brucella meningitis. The Rose Bengal test was positive in five out of five patients studied, and counterimmunoelectrophoresis was positive in all but one. The Brucella meningitis was characterized by an increase of immunoglobulin G in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1976

Comparison of counter-immunoelectrophoresis with other serological tests in the diagnosis of human brucellosis.

Sera from 65 persons with clinical brucellosis were employed in a comparison of standard and rapid serological tests. The results obtained with the Rose Bengal test correlated very well with those of the standard tube agglutination test, whereas results with the rapid plate agglutination test and the Coombs (antiglobulin) test were inferior. Absorption of patients' sera with specific anti-human immunoglobulin sera showed that IgM was active in the Rose Bengal test but not in the Coombs test, whereas IgG and IgA were active in both tests. In addition to the A & M antigen, which plays the most important role in the agglutination, Rose Bengal, and Coombs tests, other antigenic fractions of Brucella were examined in precipitation tests. A protein antigen reacted with 94% of the sera in counter-immunoelectrophoresis. On the basis of the results with both groups of sera, the Rose Bengal test and counter-immunoelectrophoresis appear to be the most promising methods for diagnosing clinical brucellosis. The tests differ qualitatively since different Brucella antigens are employed.

Brucellosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Simplicity and efficacy of a once-daily antiretroviral regimen with didanosine, lamivudine, and efavirenz in naïve patients: the VESD study.

PURPOSE: Our aim was to analyze the efficacy and safety of didanosine-lamivudine-efavirenz in a cohort of HIV patients starting antiretroviral therapy between January and September 2003. METHOD: We undertook a prospective, open-label, observational, multicenter study. RESULTS: 163 patients were enrolled. Over a 48-week period, plasma HIV RNA levels declined sharply, with a median decrease at the end of the observation time of >4.62 log copies/mL. The proportion of patients achieving a plasma HIV RNA level below 50 copies/mL was 62.9% (intention-to-treat analysis) at the end of the study period. The mean CD4 cell count increased steadily over time by 199 cells/microL. Antiviral efficacy was similar in patients with a baseline HIV RNA level above or below 100,000 copies/mL. Overall, 57 (34.1%) patients interrupted therapy; 9 due to lack of treatment response, 18 due to adverse side-effects, and 30 patients lost to follow-up or who withdrew their consent. Adherence was very high (90%-95%) and quality of life was good or very good in 69%. CONCLUSION: The once-daily combination of didanosine-lamivudine-efavirenz resulted in sustained viral suppression and was well-accepted by patients under real-life conditions, even immunosuppressed patients and those with a high viral load. Associated adverse events and virological failures were few.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Program for the early detection of hyperphenylalaninemia: 11 years on].

In 1980 the Neonatal Screening Program was set in motion in Navarra. One of its aims is the early detection of hyperphenylalaninemias. In 1987 the quantification of phenylalanine came to be carried out in the Clinical Chemistry Department of the Hospital of Navarra. From then until December 1997, 51,815 newborn babies have been studied, which represents 99.24% of the infants born in Navarra. The quantification of phenylalanine in dried blood spots during 1989 enabled us to obtain the reference interval for this amino acid that is contained between 69.5 +/- 0.01 micromol/L and 139.9 +/- 0.03 micromol/L. During these 11 years we detected 2 cases of phenylketonuric hyperphenylalaninemia and one case of transitory hyperphenylalaninemia. From the clinical point of view, the children are well at present, following prescription of adequate treatment, which is based on a diet with a low phenylalanine content.

English Abstract↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Measurement of stool composition in children with celiac disease using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy].

Celiac disease is a disorder caused by gluten-sensitivity which, when manifested in its classical digestive form, frequently presents a malabsorption syndrome. The aim of this study is to evaluate the faecal composition in celiac children with malabsorption syndrome at the moment of diagnosis by using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy and to compare it with that of healthy children. Thirty children with biopsy-proven celiac disease and 86 age-matched control children were recruited in our study. Children collected 24 hour faecal specimens and the analyses of faeces, water, fat, nitrogen and sugar were performed using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Results show that celiac children daily eliminate a significantly greater quantity of water, fat, nitrogen and sugar than those in the control group. This might be due to the higher weight of faeces eliminated in the celiac group and, of course, to their celiac condition. Of all the nutrients, faecal fat is the substance which undergoes the greatest change, indicating that this nutrient continues to be the best parameter for dealing with patients with malabsorption syndrome. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy appears to be a useful tool for assessing stool composition in celiac disease.

English Abstract↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Fungemia by Candida non albicans in patients with HIV infection].

OBJECTIVE: To analyse candidemia by Candida non albicans in adult HIV-infected patients from 1989 to August 1998. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all HIV patients who presented at least one positive peripheral blood culture for Candida spp. Clinical, epidemiologic, immunologic and evolutive characteristics, and risk factors for candidemia were analysed. RESULTS: During this period of time, 2,025 HIV-infected patients were diagnosed. Five of them developed candidemia by C. albicans and 6 by C. non albicans. These last ones were all men with mean age of 32.1 years old, and intravenous drug use was the risk factor for HIV in 5 of them; aids had previously been diagnosed in 4 patients and 3 had receipt imidazoles. None was neutropenic. Three cases were nosocomially acquired. Median CD4 cell count was 108.6 x 10(6)/l (3-366). Candida krusei was isolated in two intravenous drug users, Candida parapsilosis in two other patients and Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis in one of the other two cases each. We treated 2 patients with amphotericin B and 2 with fluconazole. One patient died. CONCLUSIONS: Candidemia is not frequent in HIV-infected patients. Candidemia by C. non albicans in HIV-infected patients presents similar characteristics as in other immunodepressed patients and it is fundamentally associated with previous use of imidazoles, nosocomial acquisition and late-stage aids. It is noteworthy that C. krusei was isolated in two intravenous drug users.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗