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Biomedical subjects

H Vellend

Publications and source records attributed to H Vellend.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

The relationship between 2-5A synthetase levels and persistent lymphadenopathy in homosexual men with antibodies to HTLV-III.

This study compared clinical and laboratory parameters in 37 individuals with serologic evidence of exposure to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 3 (HTLV-III) and generalized lymphadenopathy. Basal levels of the interferon-induced enzyme, 2-5A synthetase were also measured and compared with the clinical parameters. A significant linear relationship (p less than .05) was demonstrated between the logarithm of the basal synthetase level and both the number and size of palpable nodes in the posterior cervical triangles of the men studied. No other lymph node chains demonstrated such a relationship. In addition, men with more than 3 palpable nodes (the median number) in the posterior triangles had lower mean levels of lymphocytes, reduced mean mitogen responses to PWM, PHA, and ConA, elevated mean levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM, and were more frequently anergic on skin testing. These findings suggest the need for further longitudinal study of the possibility that extent of lymphadenopathy and level of 2-5A synthetase might serve as useful parameters to monitor disease activity.

2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase↗
PubMed1986

Malignant external otitis.

Malignant external otitis was first identified by Chandler in 1968 as a significant otologic entity. Since then its mortality rate has steadily declined. This is due to increased awareness, earlier diagnosis and appropriate antibiotic therapy. A review of five years' experience with this condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, is presented. The use of radionuclide scanning in diagnosis and determining duration of therapy is stressed.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Q-fever. The liver and bone marrow pathology.

Eighteen liver and seven bone marrow biopsies from 44 patients with clinically and serologically proven Q-fever seen during a recent outbreak were studied. Highly distinctive fibrin-ring granulomas were found in seven liver and four bone marrow specimens. Lipid or nonspecific granulomas often containing neutrophils and variable numbers of giant cells were noted in 13 livers and seven bone marrows. A wide variety of nongranulomatous histological changes, frequently including steatosis and nonspecific "reactive" hepatitis, were seen in the liver biopsies. Identifiable rickettsiae were not present in tissue sections studied by microbiologic stains or electron microscopy. The histological response pattern to Coxiella infection is varied, and Q-fever should always enter the differential diagnosis of a granulomatous disease encountered in liver and bone marrow specimens.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Q fever: hazard from sheep used in research.

The recent recognition that Q fever is endemic in Ontario and the known occupational risk of Q fever to research personnel working with sheep prompted a study to determine the prevalence of antibodies to the causative organism, Coxiella burnetti, in animals and staff at a Toronto animal research institute. Of 37 sheep 34 (92%) were found to be seropositive--that is, to have a titre of complement-fixing antibody to the phase II antigen of 1:8 or greater. Of 331 staff members tested, 18% were found to be seropositive, compared with 0.6% of a random sample of Toronto blood donors. The highest rate of seropositivity, 68%, was in the 28 animal attendants tested. Seropositivity was associated with working with sheep or fetal lamb tissue (p less than 0.0001) and with visiting the animal facility (p less than 0.001). Of the 59 seropositive staff members 63% had had no direct contact with sheep. There were 12 clinically apparent cases of Q fever, 2 of which required admission to hospital. Q fever remains a serious occupational hazard to staff working in research laboratories using sheep, even to those with indirect exposure to infected animals.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The role of Mycobacterium xenopi in human disease.

Mycobacterium xenopi is infrequently recognized as a cause of pulmonary infection. We isolated this organism from 28 patients over a 3-yr period. It was nonpathogenic in 19 and pathogenic in 9. Clinical illness occurred in middle-aged men with other chronic pulmonary diseases. Therapy was associated with clinical improvement, but most isolates were resistant to first-line antituberculosis drugs. The prevalence of M. xenopi varies geographically, but in the province of Ontario, it is second to M. avium-intracellulare as the most common nontuberculous mycobacterial pathogen.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Medical treatment of multiple streptococcal liver abscesses.

We describe four cases of multiple, cryptogenic, and streptococcal liver abscesses which were cured with antibiotic therapy. Two of the patients were referred for medical management as a last resort after open surgical drainage failed to eradicate the suppurative process. The other two patients were treated from the time of diagnosis with antimicrobial agents alone. Blood cultures or needle aspirates of the abscesses yielded a pure growth of streptococci in all instances. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin G. Cryptogenic streptococcal abscesses may represent a subset of multiple hepatic abscesses particularly amenable to successful medical therapy consisting of a minimum of 6 weeks parenteral antibiotic therapy followed by a period of oral antibiotics until clinical, biochemical, and radiological resolution of the abscesses has occurred.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Hematogenous infection of peritoneovenous shunts after dental procedures.

In two patients who had peritoneovenous shunts inserted for the treatment of intractable ascites, the shunt became infected following dental procedures that were carried out without antibiotic prophylaxis. The organisms grown were alpha-hemolytic streptococcus in one patient, and alpha-hemolytic streptococcus and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the other. Alpha hemolytic streptococcus is commonly found in the oral cavity and has also been found, related to dental manipulations, in hematogenous infections at other sites. In both patients the infections were successfully managed by antibiotic treatment with removal of the infected shunt. Physicians caring for patients with peritoneovenous shunts should be aware of this potential complication; antibiotics should always be given prophylactically at the time of dental procedures.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Human lung transplantation.

The 38th attempt at allotransplantation of a human lung is described in a patient with injury due to smoke inhalation. The innovative features in the procedure included prolonged support with an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator during and for four days following transplantation, pharmacologic control of platelet function with sulfinpyrazone, continuous monitoring with a fiberoptic ear oximeter, and pretreatment of the transplanted lung with cytotoxic durgs. The patient survived until the 18th postoperative day, with no evidence of tissue rejection, but he died following ischemic disruption of the bronchial anastomosis. We conclude that the major determinant in the future of human lung transplantation is related to the establishment of a bronchial arterial supply to the transplanted bronchus.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pasteurella multocida meningitis in an adult: case report and review.

Pasteurella multocida is a rare cause of adult meningitis. Close animal contact prior to onset of illness is frequent and represents the usual mode of introduction of the organism. In reports of a total of 21 cases of P. multocida meningitis in adults (this case report and 20 described previously in the English-language literature), 18 researchers commented on the occurrence of animal contact: two cases (11%) involved cat bite, 13 (72%) involved animal contact without bite, and three (17%) occurred in the absence of recognized animal contact. Clinical presentation was typical of bacterial meningitides. Overall mortality rate was 30%. The best predictors of poor outcome were initial hemodynamic instability and age greater than 60 years. Documented bacteremia (40% of cases) was not predictive of higher mortality. Effective therapy is based on early recognition of the possibility of P. multocida meningitis and prompt initiation of treatment with penicillin, ampicillin, or a third-generation cephalosporin.

Aged↗