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Biomedical subjects

C Liesnard

Publications and source records attributed to C Liesnard.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Markers of HTLV-III in patients with end stage renal failure treated by haemodialysis.

Patients and members of staff from a haemodialysis unit were tested for markers of infection with human T cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III), the virus associated with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay showed eight of 100 patients to have antibodies to HTLV-III. In five of these patients past or present infection with HTLV-III was confirmed by Western blot analysis or detection of HTLV-III antigens in lymphocyte cultures, or both. Investigation of other risk factors for AIDS showed that the putative source of HTLV-III was unrelated to dialysis in two patients whereas blood transfusion was the most likely cause of contamination in the others. No member of staff gave a positive result in the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Nosocomial transmission of HTLV-III seems unlikely if precautions similar to those recommended for the control of hepatitis B infection are applied.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

Erythromycin prophylaxis for Legionnaire's disease in immunosuppressed patients in a contaminated hospital environment.

Between January 1 and June 30, 1983, immunosuppressive drugs were administered in 20 renal transplant recipients undergoing 23 rejection episodes and in 3 patients with renal failure secondary to systemic disease. Legionella pneumophila, serogroup 1, pneumonia was diagnosed on 12/26 (47%) occasions. In an attempt to decrease this high rate, a program of erythromycin prophylaxis was instituted for every new patient who received immunosuppressive chemotherapy until eradication of the organism from the water supply could be realized. From July 1, 1983 to April 30, 1984, erythromycin prophylaxis (1.5-3 g/day by mouth) was administered during 39 episodes of high-dose immunosuppression (20 kidney graft recipients and 4 patients with systemic diseases); no cases of Legionnaire's disease were recorded. During the same period, erythromycin prophylaxis was withheld from 9 other high-dose immunosuppression episodes (7 kidney graft recipients and one patient with sarcoidosis); 5 cases of Legionnaire's disease occurred (56%) in this group. We conclude that erythromycin effectively protects immunocompromised patients in an environment contaminated with L pneumophila.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Preliminary results of hepatitis B vaccination (HEVAC B) in healthy subjects and haemodialysis patients.

Hepatitis B vaccine (Hevac B, Pasteur) was assessed in 52 healthy and 25 haemodialysis individuals. The percentage of hepatitis B surface antibody seroconversion was 100% in the first group but only 57.7% in the other one. The mean levels of hepatitis B surface antibody, 3 months after the first injection were respectively 222 and 42 milli International Units per ml. Five health-care workers, who experienced an accidental exposure were protected by a combined passive-active immunization.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of bronchoalveolar lavage in diagnosis of disseminated toxoplasmosis.

In three cases of acute disseminated toxoplasmosis developing soon after renal (two patients) or hepatorenal (one patient) transplantation, Toxoplasma gondii trophozoites were visualized on Giemsa-stained smears of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Trophozoites were also found in bone marrow smears in one instance. Seroconversion occurred late in two cases and was not detected before the patient's death in the third. These observations underline the potential of bronchoalveolar lavage as a diagnostic procedure for disseminated toxoplasmosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Everyday questions in laboratory medicine].

Until the sixties, it was usual for a MD to make some lab tests in a room close to his medical office. During the next decades, the number of lab tests has exploded, and the performance of the test became dissociated from the MD ordering the tests. All Belgian clinical laboratories are involved in the management of a quality system, and within it, the general practitioner is essential as partner. Good communication with him/her may put in evidence inadequacies in some processes such as the performance of the tests or the transmission of the reports to the ordering MD. The requirement for a good contact between the ordering MD and the clinical pathologist is described in some cases of everyday work in laboratory medicine: screening for thyroid dysfunction; indications of total PSA and free PSA; screening for hemochromatosis; prothrombin time and INR; serology tests for infectious mononucleosis or syphilis.

Clinical Laboratory Techniques↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Q fever endocarditis: relapse five years after successful valve replacement for a first unrecognized episode.

A 59-yr-old man presented with mitral endocarditis and negative blood cultures. Antibodies to phase 2 and phase 1 antigens of Coxiella burneti were detected and a diagnosis of Q fever endocarditis was made. Five years earlier, this patient had been successfully treated by aortic valve replacement for a first episode of endocarditis with negative blood cultures. Giemsa and Machiavello stains of the native aortic valve were made retrospectively and showed coccobacilli highly suggestive of Coxiella organisms. It is concluded that the first episode was Q fever endocarditis and that the failure to recognize this aetiology at that time, and the absence of adequate medical therapy, is the cause of the present episode.

Aortic Valve↗