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Biomedical subjects

B Schlemmer

Publications and source records attributed to B Schlemmer.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Secondary carriage with multi-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae in an adult ICU population: relationship with nosocomial infections and mortality.

A one year prospective, observational survey was performed to evaluate the abnormal carriage of multi-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and/ or Acinetobacter baumannii, to determine associated risk factors for carriage, and to correlate the abnormal carriage with infectious morbidity and mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a University Hospital. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients who stayed in the ICU > 48h, and were not neutropenic, were studied. Salivary and rectal samples were obtained on admission and weekly until discharge. Out of 265 evaluable patients, 88 (33%) developed oropharyngeal and/or rectal carriage within a median of nine days. Three factors were significantly associated with abnormal carriage: higher 'severity of illness' score on admission, a threefold increase in ICU stay, and the need for mechanical ventilation. K. pneumoniae or A. baumannii accounted for 57/158 (36%) of all ICU-acquired infections (in 46 patients). They were considered as secondary endogenous infections (SEI) in 42 patients who were previously colonized with the same strains, and developed infection within a median of three days (range 0-68 days). Prolonged stay in ICU was the only factor associated with SEI in the carrier population. Mortality was significantly greater in the carrier group (43 vs 25%, P = 0.0006). Post hoc stratification suggested that abnormal carriage only influenced mortality in patients showing a low severity of illness score on admission to ICU. Abnormal carriage was found in the most severely ill patients, predisposed to secondary nosocomial infections, and could influence mortality in the less severely ill.

Acinetobacter↗
PubMed1994

Platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist BN 52021 in the treatment of severe sepsis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial. BN 52021 Sepsis Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a natural platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist, BN 52021 (Ginkgolide B), in the treatment of patients with sepsis syndrome. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase III, multicenter clinical trial. SETTING: Twenty-one academic medical center intensive care units in France. PATIENTS: Two hundred sixty-two patients with sepsis syndrome who received standard supportive care and antimicrobial therapy, in addition to the administration of platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist or placebo. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received either a 120-mg dose of platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist intravenously every 12 hrs over a 4-day period or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: All patients were evaluated for 28-day, all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The 28-day mortality rate was 51% for the placebo group and 42% for the platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist group (p = .17). However, the efficacy of platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist was significantly greater in patients with Gram-negative sepsis (test for interaction, p = .03). In a separate analysis of patients with and without Gram-negative sepsis, the 28-day mortality rate was 57% for the patients receiving placebo (30 deaths of 53 patients) and 33% for patients receiving platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist (22 deaths of 67 patients; p = .01). Platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist also significantly (p = .01) reduced the mortality rate among patients with Gram-negative sepsis who were in shock at entry into the study (mortality rate was 65% for placebo vs. 37% for platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist) and among patients > 60 yrs of age (mortality rate was 74% for placebo vs. 31% for platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist). A Cox proportional-hazards model identified five independent prognostic factors: a) adequacy of antibiotic therapy; b) severity of illness; c) renal failure; d) hematologic failure; and e) hepatic failure at study entry. When the Gram-negative sepsis population was stratified by age and these five prognostic factors were controlled for, the relative risk of death of the platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist group was 0.61 (0.34 to 1.08, 95% confidence interval; p = .09). This risk corresponds with an adjusted reduction in mortality rate of 39% for patients receiving platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist. No differences in mortality rates were found between the placebo and the platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist groups in the absence of Gram-negative sepsis. There were no differences in adverse events between the placebo and the treated groups. CONCLUSION: The studied platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist (BN 52021) seems to be a safe and promising treatment for patients with severe Gram-negative sepsis.

APACHE↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of risk factors for laryngeal edema after tracheal extubation in adults and its prevention by dexamethasone. A placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter study.

Because laryngeal edema (LE) after tracheal extubation is likely to result from an exudative response, corticosteroids often are given routinely as a preventive treatment. No adequate controlled study supports this strategy, however. A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter trial that included 700 consecutive patients requiring tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation was conducted to determine risk factors for LE occurrence after tracheal extubation in adults and to evaluate the efficacy of corticosteroids in its prevention. One hour before extubation, patients were given either an intravenous bolus of 8 mg dexamethasone or a placebo. Patients were divided into two groups: 1) those in whom short-duration intubation (SDI, less than 36 h) was administered; and 2) those in whom long-duration intubation (LDI, more than 36 h) was administered. Minor LE was diagnosed when either stridor or laryngeal dyspnea, or both, occurred; major LE was diagnosed when reintubation due to LE was required, with LE evidenced during direct laryngoscopy. The overall incidence of LE was 4.2% and varied among the six participating centers from 2.3 to 6.9% (not significant). In only seven patients (1%), all with LDI, was tracheal reintubation required for LE. Laryngeal edema occurred more frequently after LDI than after SDI (7.2 vs. 0.9%; P less than 0.001). It also was more frequent in female than in male patients (20/284 vs. 8/379; P less than 0.05), irrespective of intubation duration and treatment. There was no association between LE and either difficulty/route of intubation or admission diagnosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Outcome of patients with systemic rheumatic disease admitted to medical intensive care units.

The outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units is known to be influenced by such factors as age, previous health status, severity of disease, and diagnosis. To estimate the outcome of such patients with systemic rheumatic diseases and to determine if the severity of these diseases unfavourably influences the prognosis at the time of admission to a medical intensive care unit, the clinical courses of all patients with systemic rheumatic disease admitted to two medical intensive care units between January 1978 and December 1988 were studied retrospectively. Sixty nine patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 16), necrotising vasculitis (n = 19), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 19), and other systemic rheumatic diseases (n = 15) were included. The mean (SD) age on admission into the medical intensive care unit was 53 (17) years and the mean simplified acute physiological score was 12 (5.5). The principal diagnoses on admission were infectious complications (29/69 patients) and acute exacerbation of the systemic rheumatic disease (19/69 patients). The death rate in the medical intensive care unit was 33% (23/69 patients) and was similar to that of a non-selected population with comparable simplified acute physiological score. The death rate in hospital was 42% (29/69 patients). Infection was the main cause of death in the medical intensive care unit (19/23 patients) and the infection was mainly acquired in the unit. Only the simplified acute physiological score on admission was a statistically significant prognostic factor: the simplified acute physiological score in patients who died was 15 (5.2) v 9.9 (4.7) for survivors. Long term outcome analysis showed that 83% (33/40 patients) of patients were still alive after admission to the medical intensive care unit with a follow up time between two months and nine years (mean 38 months). The death rate was relatively high and was mainly due to nosocomial infections. It was not different, however, from that of nonselected patients and the long term prognosis was highly favourable. This shows that the complications are often reversible, particularly infectious applications, and justifies admission to the medical intensive care unit of this group of patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Outbreak of nosocomial infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae producing SHV-4 beta-lactamase.

One hundred and fifty-four clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to broad-spectrum cephalosporins, aztreonam and amikacin were responsible for an outbreak of nosocomial infections lasting eight months in a university hospital in Paris. This outbreak occurred in the intensive care unit (39 patients), haematology units (8 patients) and surgical and medical units (11 patients). Antibiotic resistant strains were isolated from the urinary tract (48%), wound and drainage fluids (21%), respiratory tract (14%), blood (12%) and stools (5%). High resistance to oxyimino-beta-lactams was mediated by a plasmid-encoded beta-lactamase with an isoelectric point of 7.8 (SHV-4). This CAZ-type enzyme conferred a higher level of resistance to ceftazidime and aztreonam (geometric mean MIC 135 mg/l) than to cefotaxime (geometric mean MIC 14 mg/l). All isolates were of the same biotype (weakly urease positive and no sucrose fermentation). Eight Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated in different units and at different times of the outbreak were of the same serotype, had common plasmid patterns and harboured a large self-transferable plasmid of about 180 kilobases encoding resistance to penicillins, oxyimino-beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, tetracycline and trimethoprim. These eight large plasmids had indistinguishable EcoRI restriction patterns. These results suggest that a single strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae was responsible for this outbreak.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1990

Comparison of the activity of three antibiotic regimens in severe Legionnaires' disease.

Comparison of the activity of different antibiotic regimens in Legionnaire's disease has never been made because of the rarity of well documented cases of that disease. We have retrospectively compared severe cases of Legionnaires' disease treated with pefloxacin alone or in combination with erythromycin and/or rifampicin using computer-matched cases treated either with erythromycin or with erythromycin in combination with rifampicin. This study suggests that: (1) combined therapy including erythromycin, rifampicin and/or pefloxacin is superior to therapy with erythromycin alone; (2) combinations including pefloxacin may be the most active ones; and (3) pefloxacin alone may be as active as combination therapy. Although these results are in agreement with data obtained in cell and in animal models of legionella infection they need to be further confirmed by the study of larger number of patients.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1989

[On some characteristics of Tahitian family groups. Standards, behavior, projection].

"[This is a] study of the evolution of the Tahitian family group through systematic analysis of a set of files of candidates for low cost housing. This first showed a set of frequently little-known standards: the normal nature of concubinage, relatively late marriage, the establishment of the family only considered as being effective with the third child, the generalization of adoption, etc. The trend towards nuclear families is then questioned. The nuclear family model is spreading rapidly and even appears to be consciously desired by many young couples. However, the extended family in various forms (with a tendency to favour matrilineal extensions) remains preponderant and conserves an essential social integration function in Tahitian society." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Adoption↗
PubMed1988

[Lung diseases during therapeutic aplasia: diagnostic and therapeutic strategy].

Lung diseases that occur in patients with drug-induced bone marrow aplasia are part of a wider group of lung diseases in immunocompromised patients. Their most common causes are infections due to Gram-negative bacilli, staphylococci or Aspergillus spp. and intra-alveolar haemorrhages. Their diagnostic approach is often limited by disorders of coagulation, risks of infection by bronchial or pulmonary seeding during endoscopy and the lethal risk of mechanical ventilation after bronchoalveolar lavage in patients with respiratory failure. The therapeutic approach is frequently empirical due to the fact that antibiotic therapy cannot be delayed, even for a few hours, and to the aforementioned diagnostic problems. In practice, the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches usually result from a rational compromise depending on whether the lung disease has occurred at the onset or at the end of an episode of bone marrow aplasia.

Humans↗