A case of purulent meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis type 2 (group R streptococcus) is described. It occurred in a 69-year-old farmer's wife who raised pigs on her farm. Here, as well as in nearly all other cases of S. suis meningitis reported to date, close occupational contact with pigs or pork preceded the infection; this epidemiological link can be explained by the frequent occurrence of S. suis as a commensal and opportunistic pathogen in pigs. Up until now, S. suis infection in man has been rare and has had a good prognosis. However, disturbances of the eighth cranial nerve have been found in many patients, even causing permanent deafness in some. These and other clinical, epidemiological and microbiological features of S. suis disease in man are discussed here.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Expirograms of O2, CO2 and intravenously infused C2H2 and Freon-22 during panting in dogs.

To study pulmonary gas transport in panting, expirograms of several inert and respiratory gases were simultaneously measured in panting dogs. The experiments were performed on 5 conscious dogs (mean body weight 34.4 kg) provided with a chronic tracheostomy. Panting at a mean frequency of 312/min (5.2 Hz) was induced by elevated room temperature (mean 28.1 degrees C). Isotonic saline equilibrated with 50% acetylene and 50% Freon-22 was infused intravenously at a constant rate (4 ml/min). Fractional concentrations in the tracheostomy tube were measured by a respiratory mass spectrometer, using a special sampling system designed for quasi-continuous analysis of rapidly changing gas concentrations. Air flow was monitored by an ultrasonic transit-time flowmeter. A tracing of expired gas concentrations versus expired volume showed no alveolar plateau, displaying a steep increase of Freon-22, acetylene and CO2 (decrease of O2) up to the onset of inspiration. The small but statistically highly significant differences between the expirograms of CO2 and O2, and of Freon-22 and acetylene, could be qualitatively explained by ventilation-perfusion inequalities with sequential emptying, by Taylor dispersion and by reversible solution in airway mucosa in the course of the respiratory cycle.

Acetylene↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Condoms for men, not women. Results of brief promotion programs.

Three different brief intervention programs to promote condom use were tested among patients in inner-city sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics. The first, "Condom Skills," focused on teaching mechanical aspects of how to use a condom. The second, "Social Influences," emphasized how to negotiate condom use with one's sexual partner. The third, "Distribution," provided patients with an unlimited number of free condoms, retrievable at local community businesses. Of the 903 subjects whose medical records were reviewed after exposure to the intervention programs, evidence of continued unsafe sexual behavior, documented by subsequent treatment for a new STD, was found for 12.6% of the women and 19.9% of the men. When compared with male control subjects, male study patients had fewer documented subsequent STD reinfections. The relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) values were 0.48 and 0.28, 0.81 for the condom skills group; 0.65 and 0.40, 1.04 for the social influences group; and 0.85 and 0.56, 1.29 for the distribution group. There was no decrease in the incidence of STDs among female patients compared with control subjects; indeed, there was a trend toward increased risk of STDs among women exposed to the Social Influences intervention program. This study demonstrates that brief condom promotion programs can be effective for male STD patients, and that caution must be exercised in promoting condoms to women with a high risk of acquiring STDs. Further research on programs promoting safer sex among these women is needed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Simulation of arterial drug concentration after intravenous application.

The aim of this study was to develop a widely applicable model for circulatory indicator dispersion which could describe the pharmacokinetics of early drug distribution. The model assumes that the substance is injected into the right atrium and measured in the aorta. The dilution curve results from the dispersion and recirculation of the indicator in the body. The concentration time curve in the aorta, r, can be described as r = c0 + g* r, where g is the transport function of the body and c0 is the concentration time course, which is measured for the first time in the aorta. If the body transport function is known, then the aortic dilution curve of a drug can be predicted for different elimination rates and injection times. The site of interest can be chosen arbitrarily, i.e. the concentration of inflow into the kidney or any other organ can be described.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Asymptotic behavior of calculated concentration time curves].

The measured concentration time curve of an injected substance is often used as a basis for calculating the distribution volume. For the first time, the present paper describes a generally applicable formula for calculating the asymptote of a concentration time curve in medical applications. With a knowledge of this formula, previously unexplained phenomena (varying results obtained from two different methods of calculating the distribution volume) can now be understood. At the same time, errors of methodology (choice of injection and measuring sites) can be avoided.

Biological Availability↗