Bronchiectasis in acute leukaemia.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H F Guiot.
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Partial antibiotic decontamination and reverse isolation were carried out in nine patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation. The aim of this approach was to eradicate the patient's endogenous potentially pathogenic bacteria while preserving the anaerobic flora of the gut, which help to prevent recolonisation. No exogenous infections developed, and only one patient developed an infection associated with endogenous recolonisation. Colonisation resistance seemed normal in patients during partial antibiotic decontamination. This form of decontamination deserves further study in patients with immunodepression.
The effect of conservative treatment of aplastic anaemia was evaluated retrospectively in 40 patients. No significant beneficial effect was provided by long-term high-dose oxymethalone in 20 patients or by metenolone, adrenstonolone, or testosterone in 14 patients. Splenectomy gave no improvement in the majority of cases, although in some it decreased the transfusion requirement. Immunosuppressive treatment was successful in 1 patient with a positive LE phenomenon. Until a specific treatment becomes available, the possibility offered by alternative treatment, e.g. bone marrow transplantation, in cases with poor prognostic parameters should be considered.
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In order to prevent septicaemia with streptococci, 20 consecutive selectively decontaminated patients on intermediate high-dose Ara-C treatment for malignant haematological diseases were given penicillin G. The incidence of infection with streptococci decreased from 0.76 per episode (14 patients, 17 episodes) for controls who did not receive penicillin G to 0.11 per episode in the prophylaxis group (20 patients, 26 episodes). Simultaneously, a decrease in the incidence of respiratory failure was observed, i.e. 0.52 per episode for controls and 0.19 per episode for patients on penicillin G. The results suggest that septicaemia with streptococci triggers the development of noncardiogenic pulmonary oedema in patients with pre-existing damage of the lung due to aggressive cytotoxic treatment. This suggestion is supported by the sequence of events, regarding the occurrence of infection and respiratory failure and the results of measurements of antileukoprotease serum concentrations, a parameter for pulmonary capillary leakage. Taking into account the data in the literature and the results of the present study, the conclusion is drawn that in patients treated with (intermediate) high dose Ara-C, prevention of streptococcal septicaemia is associated with a decrease in the incidence of respiratory failure.
In order to study the effect of modulation of the intestinal flora on granulopoiesis, conventional mice were given drinking water with or without a combination of antimicrobial drugs, i.e. neomycin, polymyxin B, amphotericin B and nalidixic acid. These antimicrobial drugs, which selectively eliminate the aerobic gram-negative rods and suppress yeasts, are currently administered to our patients to prevent infection during granulocytopenia (nalidixic acid has been replaced by pipemidinic acid). After sublethal irradiation, mice on antimicrobial drugs were granulocytopenic longer than the controls. Although these differences were rather small, i.e. two days, the impact on the course of an experimental infection at the end of the period of granulocytopenia was substantial. After injection of 1 x 10(5) live bacteria into the thigh muscle, both groups of granulocytopenic mice exhibited an initial increase in the number of bacteria in the thigh muscle. After 18 h a further increase in the number of bacteria was found for 63% of the mice receiving antimicrobial drugs, whereas the number had dropped below the baseline in 77% of the controls. These differences were reflected in the incidence of bacteremia, i.e. positive blood cultures for the bacteria injected into the thigh muscle were found for 26% of the mice on antimicrobial prophylaxis versus only 2% of the control mice. Remarkably, the number of peripheral blood granulocytes correlated with the number of CFU isolated from the thigh 18 h after injection for the animals on prophylaxis but not for the controls. This might mean that modulation of the intestinal flora affects not only the number of circulating granulocytes, but also other host defense factors.