Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J M Montero.
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Described here is a case of Aspergillus fumigatus cranial infection secondary to accidental cranial traumatism that occurred in an immunocompetent patient and the questions that arose concerning treatment. No reports of post-traumatic cranial osteomyelitis caused by Aspergillus spp. and the ideal treatment to be followed have yet been described in the literature. In the present case, surgical debridement of the wound followed by treatment with 1 mg/kg/iv/day of amphotericin B for 21 days and then 200 mg/vo/12 h of itraconazole for 6 months obtained good results.
A case of successful treatment of orbital echinococcosis without evidence of recurrence on prolonged follow-up is presented. The management of orbital hydatid cyst is discussed. ¿ 2000 The British Infection Society
This study was conducted to evaluate the activity of levofloxacin in comparison with a range of antibacterial agents against recent isolates obtained consecutively from patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) during the period 1995 to 1996. Susceptibility testing was carried out by either microdilution or the Etest, and interpreted according to NCCLS breakpoints. The activity of levofloxacin was compared with that of amoxycillin, amoxycillin-clavulanate, cefuroxime, cefixime, erythromycin, roxithromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Clinically significant numbers of bacteria were recovered from 31 CAP and 94 AECB specimens. The predominant bacterial species in the CAP specimens were Streptococcus pneumoniae (21 isolates) and Haemophilus influenzae (four isolates). The AECB isolates mainly consisted of S. pneumoniae (38%), Moraxella catarrhalis (26%), H. influenzae (19%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10%). The overall percentage susceptible of the isolates for each antibiotic was: amoxycillin, 64%; amoxycillin-clavulanate, 89%; cefuroxime, 87%; cefixime, 78%; erythromycin, 85%; roxithromycin, 87%; clarithromycin, 87%; azithromycin, 85%; ofloxacin, 95%; ciprofloxacin, 95%; and levofloxacin, 97%. The activities of levofloxacin and the other agents were also compared against 40 S. pneumoniae isolates, of which 20 were penicillin-non-susceptible, recovered from CAP and AECB specimens during the period 1994 to 1996. These strains were all susceptible to levofloxacin, but only 50% were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and 80% to ofloxacin. Twenty M. catarrhalis, 20 H. influenzae and 20 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates were also all susceptible to levofloxacin. Furthermore, 20 community-acquired P. aeruginosa isolates showed similar percentage susceptible rates to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. These in-vitro results suggest that levofloxacin may be useful in the treatment of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.
Seventy metastatic breast adenocarcinoma patients, pretreated with standard hormonotherapy or chemotherapy, received continuous UFT at 10 mg/kg/day, orally, for at least two months. There were one complete response (1.5%), 12 partial responses (17%), one minor response and 37 disease stabilizations. The median duration of response was nine months. A greater efficacy was demonstrated in 29 patients with soft tissue disease, with a rate of 38% objective responses. The major toxicity was gastrointestinal, with 45% of patients developing nausea and vomiting and 30%, diarrhea. Bone marrow toxicity was slight. UFT has shown antitumor activity in our group of pretreated patients, especially these with the cutaneous tumoral and/or inflammatory form of the disease.
To assess the effect of megestrol acetate (MA) on the appetite and weight of cancer patients with nonhormone-dependent tumors, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed. One hundred fifty patients were included: 76 were given MA (240 mg/day orally) for at least 2 months, and 74 were given placebo (P). Body weight, subjective sense of appetite (SSA) evaluated by an analogic linear visual scale scored from 1 to 10, and performance status (PS) were measured before therapy and monthly thereafter. No differences in body weight before and after treatment could be found in any group. However, 32% of the patients in the MA group (95% confidence interval: 20.1-44.6%) gained 2 or more kilograms (P less than 0.001). This group also showed an improvement in SSA (P less than 0.01): an increase greater than or equal to 2 points appeared in 57.5% of patients (95% confidence interval 44.6-69.4%). There was no significant difference in PS for the treatment groups before or after therapy. The percentage of reported adverse events did not differ significantly from one treatment group to the next. We conclude that therapy with MA at a dose of 240 mg/day improved SSA and was associated with moderate weight gain in patients with hormone-insensitive malignancies.
A total of 170 febrile episodes in neutropenic patients with cancer were randomly assigned to be treated with piperacillin-amikacin or ceftazidime-amikacin. The overall response rates were similar in both groups (68 and 65%, respectively). Response rates for clinically or microbiologically documented episodes were 54.5% for piperacillin-amikacin and 58.8% for ceftazidime-amikacin. Response rates for gram-negative bacillary infections were 65 and 73%, respectively. There was also no difference for gram-positive infections (31 and 50%, respectively). The toxicities were also comparable and consisted of skin rashes, hypokalemia, and diarrhea. Vancomycin was added if the fever persisted 72 h after the beginning of therapy; it increased the response rates to 94% when used with piperacillin-amikacin and 92% when used with ceftazidime plus amikacin. Our results suggest that the combinations show similar global efficacies in the treatment of febrile episodes in cancer patients.
Bone marrow necrosis (BMN) is a rare complication and is characterized by the presence of an eosinophilic amorphous material in the bone marrow. The clinical, analytical and histological characteristics of 4 patients with BMN associated to a neoplastic process are described. One of them was a gastric cancer but the neoplastic origin could not de determined in the other three cases. Three patients presented bone pain, but in all four patients thrombopenia, anemia, leuko-erythroblastic reaction and elevated LDH was found. A literature review is carried out and the possible physiopathological mechanisms are discussed.
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Acute leukemia was diagnosed in five pregnant patients who received chemotherapy during the course of pregnancy. Three were undergoing chemotherapy at conception. One patient died in the fifth month of pregnancy and the anatomic study of the fetus was normal. Four babies had low birth weights at birth. Of the four one was born prematurely, but without malformations. Later development was normal. The results are reviewed and compared with data from the literature, leading to the conclusion that pregnancy is not an absolute contraindication for cytostatic treatment, except in the first trimester, in which cytostatic treatment should be avoided.
The association of leukemia and pregnancy is not common. We have analyzed the hematologic and obstetric problems occurring in 10 pregnant leukemic patients, 7 with acute leukemia and 3 with chronic myeloid leukemia. One patient died in the fifth month of pregnancy with a nonviable fetus. There was one premature twin birth with both fetuses dead. The other fetuses were viable, although there was one premature birth and three fetuses had below-normal birth weights. No bleeding complications were observed during delivery. Three patients had infections during puerperium. This article discusses the possible influences and relations between leukemia and pregnancy, based on our observations and on data in the literature.
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Cytoplasmic creatine kinase (CK) activity was measured in 39 renal cortex samples from various kidney diseases. The highest CK values were observed in normal tissues (507 +/- 71). The mean values of CK enzymatic activity in the other groups decreased in the following order: chronic pyelonephritis (273 +/- 98), hydronephrosis (233 +/- 102), renal tuberculosis (133 +/- 34), pyonephrosis (96 +/- 46), and hypernephroma (45 +/- 33). The decrease in CK activity in kidney tissue paralleled tissue damage, and affects cellular functionality in relation with the processes that use adenosine 5'-triphosphate, such as the ionic pumps.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.