Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Benzarti

Publications and source records attributed to M Benzarti.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

[Primary calcified mediastinal hydatid cyst producing compression].

A mediastinal hydatid cyst is rare (< 0.1% of hydatidosis). It most frequently progresses to calcification rather than a pulmonary hydatid cyst because there is no relationship to ventilation. We report a case of calcified mediastinal hydatid cyst which was confirmed on histological examinations from the operative specimen, in an agricultural worker of 58 who presented with a homolateral paralysed diaphragm.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗

[Brain abscess in the course of miliary tuberculosis: a case report and review of the literature].

The frequency of tuberculous cerebral involvement associated with miliary tuberculosis is not well known; some authors have evaluated it at around 22%. We report the case of a 43-year-old man hospitalised in the pulmonology department with bacillary positive miliary tuberculosis. On the 26th day of antituberculosis treatment he complained of frontal headaches, with impairment in visual acuity. Examination of the optic fundus showed bilateral papillary oedema. Cerebral computed tomography showed diffuse rounded lesions with significant oedema. Antituberculosis chemotherapy was supplemented with steroid treatment. Clinical and radiological progress was good.

Adult↗

[Unilateral hyperlucent lung].

We report a case of 33 year old man who consulted us in 1994 for recurrent bronchitis sometimes with haemoptysis. The physical examination was unremarkable. At consultation abnormal fascicular sounds were noted at the left base. A chest x-ray showed hyperlucency of the left lung associated with a very small left hilar shadow. We considered the diagnosis of Mac Leod's syndrome after eliminating a proximal obstructive pathology and pulmonary embolus. Mac Leod's syndrome or Swyer James' syndrome was described in 1954 and is suggested on the standard radiograph above all if the expiratory films have confirmed the presence of air trapping. Angiography shows a slender and fine pulmonary network. Computer tomographic examination of the chest rules out a bronchial tumour, excludes bullous emphysema and reveals hyperlucent zones. Scintigraphy with ventilation perfusion supplies the essentials to understanding the mechanism (a syndrome of aerated lung which is neither directly ventilated nor perfused). The expiratory function tests most often show a restrictive syndrome but sometimes an obstructive syndrome is found with associated air trapping. The disorder does not progress and the prognosis is good.

Adult↗

Hydatid disease of the lungs. Study of 386 cases.

During a 10-yr period, 386 patients with hydatid disease of the lung were treated at our hospital. There were 165 male and 221 female patients with a mean age of 30.15 + 16.9 yr. There were 286 solitary, 20 multiple, and 21 bilateral cysts. In 59 patients, the cysts included the lung and other organs; in 54, the lung and the liver; in four, the lung and the kidney; in one, the lung and the peritoneum. Diagnosis was made using clinical criteria, serologic findings, and imaging techniques; 373 patients were treated surgically. Surgical procedures consisted of cystectomy in 93 patients, pericystectomy in 166 patients, and lung resection in 114 patients. Mebendazole and flubendazole were used in three patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 44 patients (15.8%). There were two operative deaths (mortality rate, 0.53%). Patients have been followed yearly, with a median follow-up of 6 yr. Active hydatid disease has been found in two patients.

Adult↗

Blastomycosis in Africa: a new case from Tunisia.

Although blastomycosis is prevalent in the North American continent, it occurs only sporadically in Africa. We describe a 42 yr old patient who complained of intermittent cough and haemoptysis. Clinical findings were strongly suggestive of lung cancer. The diagnosis of pulmonary blastomycosis was made at thoracotomy. This rather unusual disease in our areas caused a considerable delay in securing the diagnosis and we suggest that this infection may be found elsewhere in Africa and the distribution may be wider than has previously been suspected.

Adult↗

Possible Behçet's disease revealed by pulmonary aneurysms.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem disease which may affect many organ systems in addition to the originally described triple symptom complex. Pulmonary aneurysm is one of the rare complications of the disease. We report a case of bilateral pulmonary aneurysm in which usual criteria for the clinical diagnosis of BD were absent and we believe that pulmonary aneurysm could be the first appearance of the disease.

Adult↗

[Endothoracic vascular involvement in Behçet's disease].

The observation of 3 cases has prompted the authors to review the characteristics of vascular abnormalities that may be found in Behçet's disease. These lesions, the frequency of which has diversely been estimated, involve the veins more often than the arteries. Arterial lesions occur, after a varying length of time, as occlusions or aneurysms, both treated by surgery. Phlebitis and venous thrombosis may be complicated by severe pulmonary embolism and therefore require anticoagulant therapy.

Adult↗

Atopy and anaphylactic reactions to suxamethonium.

Muscle relaxants are widely used for general anesthesia and may be responsible for IgE-dependent anaphylactic reactions (AR). A controversial issue in the field of drug allergy is whether ARs are more frequent or severe in atopic subjects. Thus, we performed a case-control study comparing the distribution of various clinical and biologic signs of atopy. The case group included 32 patients with a history of AR to suxamethonium, the most commonly used muscle relaxant. The control group included 128 subjects, matched to the case group according to age, gender, and socioeconomic status. The case group consisted mainly of young and middle-aged women. Distribution of symptoms suggestive of atopy and of skin tests and specific IgE to common aeroallergens was similar in both groups. In contrast, total serum IgE level was much higher in the case group, suggesting the presence of specific IgE against suxamethonium or other drugs. Thus, despite previous studies in the literature, atopy is not a risk factor for the occurrence of anaphylactic reactions to muscle relaxants. As AR to suxamethonium is a pure model of an IgE-dependent drug allergy, our data do not support a relationship between atopy and allergic drug reactions.

Allergens↗

Allergy to suxamethonium: persisting abnormalities in skin tests, specific IgE antibodies and leucocyte histamine release.

Twenty-one patients, who had previously experienced an anaphylactic reaction to suxamethonium during general anaesthesia, were selected for this study. Initially, skin tests with muscle relaxants were carried out in the twenty-one patients, detection of specific anti-choline IgE in nineteen, and leucocyte histamine release in seventeen. These three tests were then repeated between 1 year and 4 years after the initial evaluation. In the majority of patients, sensitization to the muscle relaxants persisted for more than 1 year after the anaphylactic reaction. Only three patients out of twenty-one (4%) had negative skin tests when retested 1-4 years later. A reduction in leucocyte histamine release was noticed in one of the seventeen retested patients (6%). Modifications of anti-choline IgE were observed in five of nineteen patients (26%). The persistence of sensitization to suxamethonium may result from repeated stimulation by occasional contacts with quaternary ammonium compounds. This study demonstrates the reliability of skin tests, leucocyte histamine release and detection of anti-choline IgE to diagnose allergic reactions to suxamethonium, even when they are performed a long time after the initial anaphylactic reaction.

Alcuronium↗

[Anaphylactic complications due to suxamethonium].

A study was carried out on 36 patients who had presented with an anaphylactic reaction when they had been received anaesthetic induction agents including suxamethonium. After having been examined, they were assessed with various immunoallergic tests (skin tests, LHL, a search for specific anticholine IgE antibodies). They were compared with a group of 120 control patients with the same age, sex and professional characteristics. This study confirmed the part played by specific IgE antibodies in accidents involving suxamethonium. The specificity of the tests that could be used for the diagnosis was excellent. However, as far as sensitivity of the tests went, skin tests and LHL were more sensitive than the search for specific IgE antibodies. There was no statistical relationship between the limit for skin reactions and the degree of histamine release of the level of anticholine IgE antibody.

Adult↗

[Myxomatosis in Tunisia: seroepidemiological study in the Monastir region (Tunisia)].

A sero-epidemiological study of myxomatosis, realized in the region of Monastir, confirmed the existence and the prevalence of the disease in its nodular form. Different strains of the myxomatosis virus were isolated and identified by gel immunodiffusion test (GID) using specific polyclonal sera. Serological analyses using complement fixation (FC) and (GID) tests allowed the detection of specific antibodies in sera from both healthy and sick animals. The results also confirmed the better sensitivity of the FC over the GID. Overall rates infection of herds and animals were 54.9% and 32.63% (p < 0.05), respectively, as revealed by serological testing. These rates increase with the size of herds. Geographic distribution of myxomatosis cases suggests that the disease first appeared in the coastal region then moved inside the Sabel area. Breeding and farming conditions, associated with deficiency in sanitary and medical measures, are at the origin of the introduction and the wide distribution of myxomatosis in this region.

Animals↗