Biomedical subjects

C L Kao

Publications and source records attributed to C L Kao.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

A fatal case of viral pneumonia in a child infected with adenovirus type 3.

This report describes the clinical, roentgenologic, pathologic, and virologic findings in a 2 years and ten months old girl who died from a severe pneumonia. Initially, the patient presented with fever and cough for 2 days. Physically, the patient appeared lethargic, and breathing sounds revealed diffuse rales and wheezing. Hemogram showed mild leukocytosis and lymphocyte predominant. Chest X ray revealed diffuse interstitial infiltration of the right upper lung, left upper and left lower lung field. Bacteria infection was first impressed. Although treated with several antibiotics (ampicillin, cefuroxime, amikacin, penicillin, cephazolin, imipenem and vancomycin) in three different hospitals, the patient's condition went downhill and the patient died 2 weeks later. Finally, adenoviurs type 3 was isolated from sputum specimen taken before death and necropsy lung tissue. The lung pathology showed diffuse necrotizing inflammation with fibrinopurulent exudate, and eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were also noted in the alveolar cells. These data proved the diagnosis of adenovirus pneumonia. This case adds to the evidence that adenovirus type 3 infection during childhood may cause fatal disease.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Outbreak of aseptic meningitis in Taipei in spring 1993.

An outbreak of aseptic meningitis in the Taipei area occurred from January to August 1993. A total of 114 cases were identified by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination at National Taiwan University Hospital. Most of the cases were found from February to May 1993. The peak of age distribution was 3 to 11 years. The male-to-female ratio was 2.1 to 1. Most patients had fever, headache, and vomiting and nausea. On initial CSF examination, protein concentrations > 400 mg/L were noted in 38 of 93 CSF samples, while 19 of 70 initial samples had hypoglycorrhachia (CSF/serum glucose ratio < 0.5). CSF white cell counts of the initial lumbar puncture were 0-9 x 10(6) cells/L in 4 patients, 10-99 x 10(6) cells/L in 42 patients, 100-199 x 10(6) cells/L in 27 patients, 200-499 x 10(6) cells/L in 24 patients, 500-999 x 10(6) cells/L in 12 patients and > or = 1,000 x 10(6) cells/L in 5 patients. Polymorphonuclear cells predominated in 73 of 114 cases. Viral cultures from CSF, throat swabs and rectal swabs were done with a majority yielding enteroviruses. Enterovirus as a definite etiology was found in 58 of 114 cases and was the presumptive etiology in 15 of 114 cases. The serotypes of the enteroviruses isolated were mostly echovirus type 30. All patients recovered without obvious sequelae.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Femoro-arterial bypass using Gott shunt in liver transplantation following severe hepatic trauma.

The heparinized-coated tube is widely used for arterial bypass, mainly in patients with aneurysms or trauma of the thoracic aorta. Its application in venous bypass was less frequent. We report a 26-year-old woman who sustained blunt abdominal injury which resulted in complete severance of the suprahepatic hepatic vein and multiple partial lacerations of the inferior vena cava. For hemostasis, total hepatectomy with interruption of the inferior vena cava was performed. During the anhepatic phase, end-to-end portocaval anastomosis and a bypass shunt using 9 mm Gott tube from the right femoral vein to the right atrium were set up for veno-venous bypass. Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed later. Gott tube was placed for 18 hours with good venous return. We concluded that heparinized-coated tube is good for veno-venous bypass with the following advantages: 1) simple operative procedure, 2) enough flexibility to be kept out of the operative field, 3) no anticoagulant is necessary, consequently less bleeding resulted.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Identification of VP7 serotypes of human rotaviruses by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Serotype specificity of human rotaviruses in Taiwan remained unclear. This study has established three methods for identification of G serotypes, fluorescent focus neutralization test (FFN), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay by incorporating VP7 (G) serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies (ELISA-MAb) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). FFN is a reference standard test for determination of G serotype. RT-PCR and ELISA-MAb were used for serotyping of rotavirus isolates and appeared to be accurate and more sensitive than FFN. Nevertheless, for serotyping the rotaviruses present in clinical stool samples, ELISA-MAb was not satisfactory, only 65.5% of the 264 specimens could be serotyped. The sensitivity of serotype prediction by RT-PCR was 89.4%. When both ELISA-MAb and RT-PCR were taken into account, G serotype could be predicted for 93.2% of the specimens. Serotyping results were comparable with the RNA profiles. Rotaviruses with similar RNA electrophoretic pattern had the same serotype specificity. RNA patterns could be used as a reference for prediction of serotypes. Because ELISA is easy to perform and less expensive, it would be suggested as a screening test. RT-PCR could be used for samples which could not be serotyped by ELISA-MAb. Furthermore, RT-PCR is especially valuable when serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies are not available.

Antigens, Viral↗