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Biomedical subjects

M Weinert

Publications and source records attributed to M Weinert.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Diagnostic value of intraoperative swabs of heart valves in infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Intraoperative swabs of heart valves are obtained regularly from patients undergoing heart valve surgery for infective endocarditis (IE) in order to confirm the preoperative diagnosis and to adjust the antibiotic regimen. The study aim was to assess the diagnostic value of intraoperative swabs of heart valves in IE. METHODS: A total of 83 patients was referred for surgical treatment of active IE between October 1994 and May 1999. Preoperatively, microorganisms were isolated using a minimum of two positive blood cultures; results were compared with those obtained from intraoperative heart valve swab cultures. RESULTS: Preoperatively, 73 patients (88%) had a positive blood culture, and 10 (12%) had culture-negative endocarditis. The intraoperative swab confirmed the preoperative diagnosis in 31 cases (37%). Bacteria were isolated in three of the ten patients with preoperative culture-negative IE. Despite positive histopathological findings in seven patients, no microorganisms were cultured either pre- or intraoperatively. Among the remaining 42 patients (51%) with active IE, 25 valve cultures were sterile and 17 valve swabs were presumed to be contaminated. CONCLUSION: In patients with active IE in whom the causative agent could be isolated and identified before surgery, intraoperative valve swabs did not contribute further to patient management. In isolating contaminants, the risk of inappropriate modification of the antibiotic regimen is imminent. The diagnostic validity in culture-negative IE appears negligible.

Adolescent↗

Continuous, less invasive, hemodynamic monitoring in intensive care after cardiac surgery.

A pulse-contour-based method for continuous measurement of cardiac output (CO) and systemic vascular resistance (SVR) was tested and arterial thermodilution, used for calibration, was compared to pulmonary artery thermodilution. In 30 patients CO and SVR were measured by pulse contour analysis (COpc, SVRpc) 270 times in 24 h and compared to arterial (COart, SVRart) and pulmonary arterial (COpa, SVRpa) thermodilution measurements. The mean difference between COpa and COart was 0.26 L/min (3.6%) with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.7 L/min, the correlation coefficient was 0.96, and the coefficient of variation was 5.0% and 5.9% respectively. COpc did differ from COpa by 0.11 L/min (1.5%, SD = 0.6 L/min) and from COart by 0.15 L/min (2.1%, SD = 0.7 L/min). Correlation of COpc with COpa was 0.91, correlation of COpc with COart was 0.90. SVRpc did correlate with SVRpa, a coefficient of 0.94, and with SVRart, a coefficient of 0.92. Mean COpc and SVRpc did not differ significantly from COpa or COart and SVRpa or SVRart during the 24 h study period. It is concluded that COart correlates well with COpa and can be used to calibrate COpc. COpc and SVRpc agree with thermodilution-based CO and SVR without recalibration for 24 hours.

Adult↗

Oral manifestations of HIV infection.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive, literature-based guide to the diagnosis of and the management and referral of patients with oral diseases associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. DATA SOURCES: The literature was reviewed to identify common oral manifestations of HIV infection, the physical and laboratory findings associated with them, and the therapies used to treat them. The National Library of Medicine's AIDSLINE database was searched using the term "mouth diseases." Additional references were identified from the bibliographies of these articles and related textbooks. STUDY SELECTION: English-language abstracts were reviewed to determine each paper's clinical relevance. To be considered clinically relevant, a paper had to describe the physical appearance of oral manifestations, methods used to diagnose oral manifestations, or treatment and referral guidelines. More than 600 abstracts were identified. DATA EXTRACTION: After the abstracts were reviewed, articles were selected and were reviewed for possible inclusion. If both of two reviewers agreed that an article was clinically relevant and dealt with conditions that occurred in more than 1% of HIV-infected patients, the article was included. DATA SYNTHESIS: 16 conditions that occur in more than 1% of HIV-infected patients were identified. Information on these conditions was collected and sorted into three categories: clinical appearance, diagnostic methods, and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Almost all patients with HIV infection will contract oral diseases. Guidelines for recognizing, diagnosing, and managing these conditions are presented. Most conditions can be treated or alleviated through the combined efforts of the physician and the dentist.

HIV Infections↗