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Biomedical subjects

E Nizankowska

Publications and source records attributed to E Nizankowska.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Hydrocortisone and airflow impairment in aspirin-induced asthma.

We studied the effects of intravenous injection of hydrocortisone, as compared to its solvent, in 31 patients with aspirin-induced asthma. Mean FEV1 fell significantly 5 minutes after an intravenous bolus of 300 mg of hydrocortisone, but not after the solvent, and returned to the initial values 1 hour later. Only three of 31 patients displayed at this time clinical signs of increased impairment of airflow that resolved spontaneously. Neither in these three patients nor in another patient known already to respond with bronchoconstriction to 30 to 50 mg of hydrocortisone did intravenous injections of 20 mg of methylprednisolone, 4 mg of dexamethasone, or 4 mg of betamethasone produce any signs of bronchial obstruction. In the whole group of patients, mean FEV1 increased significantly 3 to 5 hours after hydrocortisone injection. It is hypothesized that hydrocortisone might induce early bronchoconstriction in patients with aspirin-induced asthma through its inhibitory effects on prostanoid biosynthesis. Use of intravenous steroids other than hydrocortisone is advisable in patients with aspirin-induced asthma.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Asthma improved by aspirin-like drugs.

In six adult patients with bronchial asthma aspirin in a single dose of 0.3-1.2 g produced bronchodilatation with a marked improvement in both clinical symptoms and pulmonary function tests. In these patients asthma was characterized by the following traits: onset after a flu-like infection, perennial course, lack of relation to specific allergenic exposures, negative skin tests with common aeroallergens, and history of rhinorrhoea or sinusitis. Oral challenge with 12 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs performed in two patients showed that bronchodilatation could be induced not only by aspirin but also by other drugs which inhibit cyclo-oxygenase. This response to aspirin is rare and proper diagnosis is of vital importance, since the same aspirin-like drugs which proved effective in these patients may provoke dangerous bronchoconstriction in other clinically indistinguishable patients with asthma.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Adverse reactions to suxamethonium and other muscle relaxants under general anesthesia.

The mechanisms of anaphylactic reactions to muscle relaxants under general anesthesia are not completely understood. Extending an earlier study, we report 41 cases of anaphylactic shock investigated by intradermal skin tests with muscle relaxants (suxamethonium, pancuronium, gallamine, nortoxiferine), in vitro leukocyte histamine release, and Prausnitz-Küstner tests. Intradermal tests were significantly positive at concentrations ranging from 10 to 10(5) times less than those in controls. Reproducibility tested for suxamethonium at a 1-year interval in five patients was good. Histamine release induced by muscle relaxants in Tris-albumin-Ca++-Mg++ buffer showed positive results in 8/25 instances and was inhibited by antigen excess in seven cases. Addition of 50% deuterium oxide (D2O) caused significant increase of histamine release in positive cases and induced release in all five negative cases studied. Muscle relaxant-induced histamine release was inhibited by in vitro anti-IgE leukocyte desensitization. The mean maximal histamine release dropped from 58.2% +/- 9.7 to 5.8% +/- 2 (p less than 0.01). Similarly, leukocyte desensitization also inhibited histamine release induced by anti-IgE but not by formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine or poly-L-arginine. Prausnitz-Küstner tests were positive in five out of 21 cases studied and became negative after heat inactivation. These results confirm the usefulness of intradermal skin tests in diagnosis of patients' reaction to muscle relaxants and suggest an IgE-mediated rather than an idiosyncratic mechanism.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Bronchial reactivity to prostaglandins F2alpha, E2, and histamine in different types of asthma.

Bronchial reactivity to prostaglandins F2alpha (PGF2alpha), E2 (PGE2) and histamine has been studied in 27 patients with aspirin-sensitive asthma and in 28 asthmatics without this sensitivity. Of the latter group, 13 patients had atopic, 9 infectious, and 6 mixed type of asthma. Atopic patients were characterized by vivid reactivity to low doses of both PGF2alpha and histamine. In patients with infectious asthma significantly higher doses of both PGF2alpha and histamine were necessary to induce bronchoconstriction as compared to atopics. Aspirin-sensitive patients responded quickly with bronchial spasm to similar doses of histamine as atopics, but tolerated significantly higher doses of PGF2alpha. There was no difference in reactivity to PGF2alpha between patients with aspirin sensitivity and those with infectious asthma. 5 and 10 min after administration of 60 microgram PGE2 significantly better improvement in ventilation occurred in aspirin-sensitive patients than in those of either atopic or infectious groups. The results obtained point to differences in bronchial reactivity to prostaglandins and histamine depending on type of asthma and severity of its symptoms.

Adult↗