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Biomedical subjects

M Wolff

Publications and source records attributed to M Wolff.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

Tricuspid infective endocarditis: 56 cases.

Fifty six cases of tricuspid infective endocarditis (TIE) were seen over a period of 15 years. The patients were divided into three groups, on the basis of the site of entry: (a) Thirty one TIE after abortion (6 cases) or in association with drug addiction (25 cases) are characterized by the young age of the patients and the organism (29 staphylococci), the existence of repeated pulmonary emboli and the relatively favourable prognosis (3 deaths). (b) Twelve TIE due to an intravenous infusion catheter (9 cases) or a visceral site of entry: older patients, resistant organisms (3 gram negative bacilli, 8 staphylococci, 5 of which were methicillin-resistant) and with poor prognosis (8 deaths). (c) Thirteen TIE where the site of entry was unidentified, running a sub-acute course, 7 due to streptococci, and often associated with involvement of the left side of the heart, which was the dominant prognostic feature (6 deaths). Mortality was 30%. Of predominant importance in prognosis was the sensitivity of the organism: 6 deaths out of 9 TIE due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and 3 out of 31 TIE due to a sensitive staphylococcus (P less than 0.01). Seventeen underwent surgery. Tricuspidectomy (8 patients) should be reserved for cases of uncontrolled infection. Surgery is not justified by the persistence of pulmonary emboli.

Adult↗

Pneumococcal endocarditis.

Among 369 patients with native valve infective endocarditis observed during a 14-year period, 17 were related to S: pneumoniae. Fourteen of them were observed in the last 7 years. At the time of admission 13 exhibited purulent meningitis, 6 of them being comatose. An apparent portal of entry was present in 13 patients including Pneumonia (n = 11) and otitis media (n = 2). Major alcoholism was present in 6 cases. The mean delay between the onset of fever and the discovery of the cardiac murmur was 15 days (range 1 to 60). Twelve patients exhibited congestive heart failure with acute pulmonary oedema in 9. The aortic valve was involved in 12 and the mitral valve in 7 (in 2 patients both mitral and aortic valves were involved). Myocardial and/or annular abscesses were found in 7 patients. Nine patients underwent surgical procedure (3 died) whereas 6 comatose patients were not operated on and died. The overall mortality was 59%. Although antibiotics are effective, the severity of anatomical lesions leads to prompt surgical treatment. The high mortality is mainly due to purulent meningitis.

Adult↗

Surgery in infective endocarditis.

Three hundred and seventy eight patients with infectious endocarditis (IE) were studied, including 299 cases of native IE [154 subacute (SIE), 145 acute (AIE)] and 79 cases of prosthetic endocarditis (PIE). One hundred and fifty patients were operated on (40%): 117 for haemodynamic complications, 10 for bacteriological indications and 23 for mixed indications (112 patients in the acute phase). Complications were more frequent in AIE than in SIE, in PIE than in native IE. Surgery is more urgent in aortic insufficiency and in Oslerian mitral stenosis (7 cases) than in mitral insufficiency. Eight tricuspid valvulectomies were performed. In 5 cases out of 11 rupture syndrome was cured without surgery. The patient's clinical condition contra-indicated surgery in 63 cases. The surgical mortality was 51/150 (34%). It was significantly lower in SIE (21%) than in AIE (39%), in native IE than in PIE (53%), after antibiotic therapy than in the acute phase. Mortality was not higher when surgery was performed before the 8th day of antibiotherapy but perivalvular leaks were more common (31% vs 4%, P less than 0.01). Mortality was higher when the culture of valve was positive than when it was negative (45% vs 26%, P less than 0.06). However, surgery should be immediately considered in cases of haemodynamic complications.

Acute Disease↗

Penetration of pefloxacin into cerebrospinal fluid of patients with meningitis.

We evaluated the diffusion of pefloxacin into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 15 patients with bacterial meningitis or ventriculitis, 14 of whom were treated with other antibiotics. Three doses of pefloxacin were administered at 12-h intervals to 11 patients intravenously and to 4 patients orally. Individual doses were 7.5 mg/kg in seven patients and 15 mg/kg in eight patients. Plasma and CSF levels were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatographic assay. The concentrations of pefloxacin in CSF were measured 2 h after the third intravenous dose and 4 h after the third oral dose. In patients receiving 7.5 mg/kg, peak levels in plasma ranged from 6.8 to 16 micrograms/ml, and trough levels were from 2 to 7.5 micrograms/ml. Concentrations in CSF ranged from 2.4 to 9 micrograms/ml. In patients receiving 15 mg/kg, peak levels in plasma ranged from 14 to 18.6 micrograms/ml, and trough levels were from 4 to 13.2 micrograms/ml. Concentrations in CSF ranged from 6.5 to 13 micrograms/ml. These preliminary data indicate that pefloxacin diffuses well into the CSF of patients with inflamed meninges.

Adolescent↗

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast. Report of 11 new cases: review of the literature and discussion of biological behavior.

Eleven new cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast are added to the 95 previously reported. They were studied for their biological behavior, and an attempt was made to correlate histologic features with prognosis. A comparison was made with analogous tumors in extramammary sites, and possible relationship with carcinoid tumors of the breast explored. The patients in the study followed a biological course very similar to that described by previous studies, i.e., slow progression, local recurrence if inadequately resected, and absence of lymph node metastases. Only one patient developed distant metastases after an interval of ten years following radical mastectomy. If the diagnosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma is reserved for those lesions displaying the distinctive appearance and typical epithelial-stromal relationships which have been described, the authors feel that simple mastectomy with careful follow-up surveillance is the treatment of choice.

Adult↗

[Treatment of enterobacterial meningitis in adults with intravenous lamoxactam].

Meningitis caused by Gram-negative bacilli creates difficult problems since most strains are multiresistant. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of lamoxactam administered intravenously. Eleven patients admitted to an intensive care unit with meningitis due to Gram-negative bacilli were treated with this antibiotic, administered alone in 9 cases. Three patients had ventriculitis. Eight survived. The MICs ranged from 0.06 to 0.5 microgram/ml in 10 cases. The CSF was sterilized and rapidly became normal. Meningeal concentrations varied from 1-5 to 62 micrograms/ml and the CSF was bactericidal. In one female patient the CSF was sterile on the 5th day of treatment but remained abnormal; the meningeal concentration of lamoxactam (35 micrograms/ml) was much higher than the MIC (2 micrograms/ml) but below the MBC (128 micrograms/ml), which was consistent with the absence of bactericidal effect of the CSF. Owing to its very low CMIs and satisfactory passage through the blood-brain barrier, lamoxactam administered alone can be successful in the treatment of Gram-negative meningitis and ventriculitis. However, the bactericidal effect of the CSF should be rapidly assessed.

Adult↗

[Treatment of 18 cases of purulent meningitis with moxalactam. Pharmacokinetic data].

The diffusion of moxalactam into cerebrospinal fluid was studied in 18 hospital patients with purulent meningitis treated with this antibiotic. Moxalactam was administered by intravenous infusion in doses of 2 g 8-hourly (6 g/24 h). Treatment lasted from 10 to 30 days depending on the pathogen involved. The antibiotic was assayed by high performance liquid chromatography simultaneously in serum and CSF at the time of lumbar puncture. Depending on the time elapsed since the end of the infusion, the mean CSF concentrations ranged from 32.8 to 9.37 micrograms/ml at the beginning of the disease and from 23.75 to 3.78 micrograms/ml toward the end of treatment. These values were notably higher than the MIC for most of the micro-organisms encountered. All patients were cured.

Adult↗

Influence of posture on gas exchange in artificially ventilated patients with focal lung disease.

Six patients were artificially ventilated for a focal lung disease localized to one lung in four cases and to both lower lobes in two. Despite an inspired oxygen concentration of 100% the mean PaO2 was 115 mmHg. The addition of PEEP slightly improved PaO2 in two patients but led to deterioration in four. We therefore studied the effects of posture. Patients with unilateral disease were placed in the lateral position with the healthy lung dependent. The two patients with both lower lobes involved were tilted into the Trendelenburg position. The mean PaO2 rose from 98.4 to 199.5 mmHg. Posture was maintained as long as a beneficial effect was demonstrable. The disappearance of this effect was associated either with recovery (three patients) or with the extension of the pneumonia (three patients). The improvement of gas exchange can be accounted for by the rearrangement of ventilation/perfusion relationships. This management could avoid the need for differential lung ventilation.

Adult↗

Long-term function of duct-ligated and free-duct whole pancreas transplants.

This report compares endocrine and exocrine responses of "free-duct" and "duct-ligated" whole pancreas isografts in Lewis diabetic rats during a 1-year period of observation. Fasting blood sugar, serum amylase, serum insulin, pancreozymin-secretin test, and L-arginine tolerance test assays were performed prior to and at periodic intervals after transplantation. Histological examinations of transplanted and native pancreas were performed monthly on animals in each group. Whole pancreas transplantations led to immediate and sustained normalization of FBS and insulin levels. In the "duct-ligated" group there was a gradual but insignificant decrease of serum insulin levels after 9 months. Depressed serum amylase levels in diabetic rats were reversed in both groups. Isolated islet iso- and allografts also reversed depressed amylase levels. The results of pancreozymin-secretin tests in islet isografted animals supported the postulated trophic effect of endocrine pancreas on exocrine pancreas. Although both whole-pancreas transplant groups showed a normal response to GTT for 12 months after transplantation, the "duct-ligated" group showed a significantly lower response to L-arginine tolerance test than the "free duct" model as early as 4 months after transplantation, suggesting a defect in B-cell function in long-term "duct-ligated" graft. Serial histological examinations of transplanted pancreases revealed more rapid atrophy and more intense fibrosis of acinar tissue in the "duct-ligated" group than in the "free duct" group. These results suggest that a "free duct" pancreatic isograft maintains a more stable endocrine function in a long-term study than does the "duct-ligated" pancreas, and that exocrine dysfunction in diabetic rats may be related to the endocrine disorder which can be reversed by both islet cell and whole-organ pancreatic transplantation.

Amylases↗

Penetration of ceftazidime into cerebrospinal fluid of patients with bacterial meningitis.

Four 2-g doses of ceftazidime were infused intravenously over 30 min at 8-h intervals, first between days 2 and 4 and again between days 11 and 20, in 11 patients with bacterial meningitis undergoing treatment with other antibiotics. Concentrations of ceftazidime in serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples obtained 120 or 180 min after dose 4 were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid ranged from 2 to 30 micrograms/ml, depending on the sampling time and the time elapsed since the onset of the disease.

Adolescent↗