During 10 years, 127 children were admitted to the pediatric ward because of aspiration of foreign bodies (0.56% of all admissions). Eighty-one percent of the children were under 3 years of age. One hundred and one children (80%) had a positive history of foreign body aspiration. Vegetable substances, particularly peanuts and grains, were the commonest type of foreign body removed. Clinical signs and radiological studies were, in most children, pathognomonic, but sometimes not conclusive. Chest X-rays were normal in 18%; fluoroscopy was diagnostic in 92%. Rigid bronchoscopy and subsequent removal of the foreign body was the treatment instituted. Pneumonia (the commonest complication) developed before and after bronchoscopy in 28% of the children. Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema were present on admission in 2 children. Cardiac arrhythmias, bronchospasm, and cardiac arrest were recorded during bronchoscopy. Bronchiectasis developed in one, and persistent intractable pneumonia, requiring lobectomy, developed in another patient. One death occurred.

Bronchi↗

PubMed1994

Tuberculous pericardial effusion associated with HIV infection: a sign of disseminated disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether tuberculous pericardial effusion is associated with HIV infection. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Harare, Zimbabwe. SUBJECTS: 61 consecutive patients presenting with tuberculous pericarditis over an 18 month period. RESULTS: Tuberculous pericarditis was significantly associated with HIV seropositivity (odds ratio [OR] 2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-4.3, P = 0.001). The combination of tuberculous pericarditis and tuberculosis at another clinically obvious site (disseminated disease) was more common than pericarditis alone, and was significantly associated with HIV seropositivity (OR 6.1, CI 1.5-25, P = 0.007). Patients with disseminated disease were usually in CDC stage IV prior to the diagnosis of their tuberculosis.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Effect of isradipine in black patients with very severe hypertension. 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiographic evaluation.

Fifty consecutive black patients with very severe hypertension (sitting diastolic blood pressure > or = 120 mm Hg and systolic > or = 210 mm Hg by the conventional cuff method) were treated in an open-label study (without a placebo or active drug control group) for 3 months with a long-acting preparation of isradipine (Dynacirc SRO), during which time serial changes in 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), left ventricular (LV) mass index, and LV systolic function were evaluated. Mean 24-h ABPM was reduced from 184 +/- 13/119 +/- 6 to 148 +/- 18/96 +/- 11 mm Hg at 3 months (P < .0001). The reduction in BP was sustained for 24 h after dosing. Simultaneous BP measurements using a conventional cuff method and Dinamap were significantly different from the ABPM pre- and posttherapy, suggesting a marked "white coat" pressor effect. LV mass index regressed from 143 +/- 36 to 122 +/- 32 g/m2 at 3 months (P < .02). Heart rate and mean body weight were unchanged. Left ventricular performance was not adversely affected. Cardiac index and fractional shortening changed insignificantly, from 2.6 +/- 0.6 to 2.7 +/- 0.5 L/min/m2, and from 28 +/- 6 to 31 +/- 7%, respectively. Adverse effects were few and tended to disappear during the treatment period. All of the clinical laboratory parameters tested remained unchanged. We conclude that in this group of patients long-acting isradipine 1) showed a marked and sustained antihypertensive action demonstrated by 24-h ABPM; and 2) was well tolerated and associated with LV mass regression without adverse effect on systolic cardiac function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Prenatal ethanol exposure: susceptibility to convulsions and ethanol's anticonvulsant effect in amygdala-kindled rats.

The present experiments assessed the effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on the susceptibility to convulsions and on the anticonvulsant effect of ethanol using the electrical kindling model of epilepsy in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats from prenatal ethanol (E), pair-fed (PF), and ad libitum-fed control (C) treatment groups were tested following the implantation of a stimulation electrode in the left amygdala complex. The same rats were tested in four consecutive experiments. Both E and PF rats showed a slightly slower rate of kindling than C rats, as measured by convulsion class but not as measured by forelimb clonus duration (experiment 1). However, the groups did not differ significantly in the electrical stimulation threshold for kindled convulsions (experiment 2). Furthermore, prenatal ethanol exposure had no significant effect on the dose-response curve for ethanol's (0, 0.9, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.5 g/kg, ip) anticonvulsant effect (experiment 3), or on the rate of tolerance development to ethanol's (1.5 g/kg, ip) anticonvulsant effect (experiment 4) on kindled convulsions. Thus, prenatal exposure to ethanol does not appear to have long-term effects on the susceptibility to convulsions or on the anticonvulsant effect of ethanol in adult male rats in the kindling model as used in the present experiments.

Amygdala↗

PubMed1994

Urination and its discontents.

"Urination and Its Discontents" is an attempt to answer why various twentieth-century artists have made works that use or are about urination. Andy Warhol's act of "pissing" onto a canvas in his Oxidation Paintings is related to homosexual "sex clubs," but also to the iconoclasm of Mapplethorpe, Serrano, Duchamp, and Pollock. Freud's idea that civilization began with the renunciation of the "homosexual competition" of urinating on the fire is discussed and compared to Ellis's idealization of the erotics of bodily functions. Weinberg suggests that artists follow Ellis instead of Freud in undermining the boundaries society places on what is clean and dirty and what is sexually permissible.

Europe↗

PubMed1994

Beginning a job search: take six steps to ensure success.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Humans↗

PubMed1994

Recent studies on the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on the endocrine and immune systems.

It has been known for many years that alcohol can alter both endocrine and immune function in the adult organism. Acting directly on the endocrine glands themselves, and/or at the level of the pituitary or brain, alcohol has been shown to alter secretory activity of most of the endocrine systems that have been studied. Similarly, the association between alcoholism and infections and between alcoholism and certain forms of cancer has long been recognized by clinicians. While for many years there was uncertainty about the extent to which the alterations in immune function were a direct result of alcohol consumption or a consequence of the medical complications of alcoholism, recent research on the effects of alcohol on cell-mediated and humoral immunity have demonstrated that alcohol consumption may indeed be associated with immune impairment, independent of nutritional deficiencies, liver disease, or general poor health that may occur. However, it is only recently, as our knowledge of the teratogenic effects of alcohol on the developing organism has expanded, that the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on endocrine and immune function of the offspring have begun to receive considerable attention. This review will discuss recent clinical and experimental literature on the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on offspring endocrine and immune development.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Neuroendocrine effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMed1993

Effects of steroid hormones and opioid peptides on the growth of androgen-responsive Shionogi carcinoma (SC115) cells in primary culture.

We investigated the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), hydrocortisone (HC), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and opioid peptides on the growth of cells from the androgen-responsive Shionogi mouse mammary carcinoma (SC115) in primary culture. Androgen-responsive SC115 tumor cells were stimulated to grow in response to DHT, HC, and bFGF in a dose-responsive manner in both serum-containing and serum-free media. Moreover, anti-bFGF antibody had a marked inhibitory effect on DHT- and bFGF-induced growth. Three opioid agonists, beta-endorphin (beta-EP), cyclazocine, and morphine sulfate, markedly inhibited SC115 tumor cell growth at concentrations ranging from 10(-11) to 10(-7) M in serum-containing medium with or without DHT, HC, or bFGF, with the greatest inhibition occurring in medium with DHT. In serum-free medium, beta-EP had no inhibitory effects on cell growth. However, beta-EP at concentrations of 10(-9) M or greater significantly inhibited cell growth in serum-free medium containing DHT, HC, or bFGF, with the greatest inhibition again occurring in medium with DHT. Naloxone (10(-8) and 10(-6) M), an opioid receptor antagonist, blocked the inhibitory effects of beta-EP and morphine sulfate. These results suggest that SC115 tumor cells in primary culture are stimulated to grow in a dose-responsive manner by DHT, HC, or bFGF in both serum-containing and serum-free media. It appears that bFGF may mediate, at least partially, DHT-stimulated cell growth. In addition, the opioid peptide system may be involved in regulating endocrine control of growth of the androgen-responsive SC115 carcinoma. The dose-responsive inhibitory effects of opioids and their reversal by naloxone suggest that these effects may be mediated by opioid receptors.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Fetal alcohol syndrome: review of the literature with implications for physical therapists.

The purpose of this review is to familiarize physical therapists with the diagnostic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other alcohol-related birth defects. Through review of FAS research studies of both humans and animals, the prevalence, pharmacokinetics, and clinical features of this syndrome are described. Deficits in the areas of cognitive, behavioral, and motor development are also described. Particular attention is given to neuromotor differences and orthopedic abnormalities associated with FAS that may require consultation or intervention from physical therapists.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗