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Biomedical subjects

N Principi

Publications and source records attributed to N Principi.

159 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Improvement of auditory brainstem responses after treatment with zidovudine in a child with AIDS.

A 6 1/2-month-old boy with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was treated with zidovudine for 12 months. He experienced a marked improvement in clinical and neurologic status. Auditory brainstem responses were recorded before, at 6 months, and after 12 months of therapy; interpeak latency I-V, which was initially delayed, demonstrated progressive shortening that was greater than could be attributed to maturation alone. Auditory brainstem response improvement after zidovudine therapy has not been reported previously.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lactose malabsorption and recurrent abdominal pain in Italian children.

The role of lactose malabsorption (LM) was investigated in 32 children (mean age 8.13 +/- 2.46 years) with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP). LM was detected in 75% of them by a lactose breath hydrogen test (LBHT) after a 2-g/kg (max 50-g) load. Of the 18 malabsorbers who participated in a 3-month lactose-free diet (LFD), 14 were judged "improved" and reported lower pain frequency (p less than 0.001). The malabsorbers who improved versus the not improved had comparable past lactose ingestion but were distinguishable on the basis of their lactose absorption capacity (0.36 vs. 0.81 g/kg; p less than 0.01), as subsequently determined by multiple LBHTs with 25-, 12.5-, and 6-g loads. The ratio between past lactose ingestion and lactose absorption was 1.89 in the improved and 0.55 in the not improved groups (p less than 0.01), retrospectively indicating lactose as a possible cause of the symptoms in the improved group. The reintroduction of lactose in amounts not exceeding the absorption capacity into the diet of each malabsorber who had improved with LFD caused relapse in none of the 14 subjects monitored for 2-6 months. In conclusion, LM seems an important cause of symptoms in Italian children with RAP. Assessment of the lactose absorption threshold of each subject of LBHTs provides a basis for reintroduction of "calibrated" amounts of lactose-containing foods (e.g., milk) into the diet.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

C-reactive protein in acute otitis media.

This study was designed to explore whether C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum is helpful in assessing the etiologic diagnosis of acute otitis media (AOM) in children. CRP was measured serially by a radial immunodiffusion method in sera from 67 children with AOM and in 67 matched controls, affected by noninfectious neurologic disorders. In the study group 43 (64%) children had a confirmed bacterial AOM and 24 (36%) showed no bacterial growth from middle ear fluid. The upper limit of CRP in controls was 15 mg/liter. Concentrations of CRP in patients with bacterial AOM ranged from less than 6 to 150 mg/liter; in 71% of the cases the value was greater than 15 mg/liter. In the patients with sterile middle ear fluid CRP ranged from less than 6 to 110 mg/liter; in 67% of the cases the level was greater than 15 mg/liter. CRP greater than 15 mg/liter showed sensitivity of 72%, specificity of 33%, predictive value of a positive test of 66% and predictive value of a negative test of 40%, in detecting bacterial AOM. Measurement of CRP should not be used in the decision regarding antimicrobial therapy for AOM in children.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rifamycin SV administered by intra-articular infiltrations shows disease modifying activity in patients with pauci- or polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

The therapeutic activity of rifamycin SV administered by the intra-articular route was evaluated in 52 children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (oligopolyarthritis). Each active joint was injected once a week for 10 weeks; thereafter patients were followed for 3-48 months. The number of active joints and joints with limitation of motion, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein improved significantly at the end of the treatment cycle, with progressive improvement during the subsequent period of observation. At 48-month of follow-up, 78% of joints did not present signs of inflammation; and 66% of joints showed no functional limitations. Joints without radiological lesions at baseline and large joints responded best to the rifamycin treatment. Persistent knee effusions were reabsorbed completely in most cases during the treatment and within the first 6 months of follow-up. Recurrences of synovitis were observed in 7% of joints. De novo radiological lesions in initially undamaged joints occurred during the second year of follow-up in only 10% of patients. At 24 months, 62% of patients with oligoarthritis and 24% with polyarthritis showed complete remission in all affected joints and recovered movement in all those joints which had shown limitations at baseline. There was also a normalization of inflammatory indexes (ESR, C-reactive protein) and regression of general features of disease. Further long term studies are now required to confirm these promising preliminary results.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiology of meningitis, pneumonia and acute otitis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae in pediatric in Italy].

Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most important bacterial pathogens in pediatrics, both from a quantitative and from a qualitative point of view. It can cause severe diseases such as occult bacteremia, sepsis, meningitis and it is also involved in the determination of a relevant part of very common illnesses such as pneumonia, acute otitis media and rhinosinusitis. However, most of the data regarding the epidemiology of pneumococcal infections in pediatrics have been collected in the U.S.A. and in other industrialized Countries different from Italy. In Italy only studies concerning meningitis and the carrier state of pneumococcus are at the moment available. They indicate that also in Italy S. pneumoniae seems to play a significant role in the determination of several pediatric diseases and that quite similar are the group of serotypes mainly involved in the determination of both invasive and not invasive diseases.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Efficacy of the heptavalent pneumococcal vaccine against meningitis, pneumonia and acute otitis media in pediatric age. Theoretical coverage offered by the heptavalent conjugate vaccine in Italy].

All the clinical trials carried out to evaluate the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine have clearly demonstrated that it is safe, well tolerated and, despite some differences in the different diseases, effective in the prevention of all the pneumococcal illnesses. Considering that the available data demonstrate that the serotypes involved in the determination of pneumococcal diseases are, in Italy, the same found in the U.S.A. where the vaccine has been formulated, it is reasonable to think that it will be very effective also in our country. We hope that this vaccine can be systematically prescribed also in Italy: this could permit to reduce the number of both common and severe pneumococcal diseases at the moment largely present among italian children.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapy of lower urinary tract infections in children].

Infection of the urinary tract has been described for nearly two centuries, yet the diagnosis, localization of infection, outcome, and management of UTI continue to generate significant problems. The two basic aims of treatment of UTI are the relief of symptoms and the prevention, or at least limitation, of damage to the renal parenchyma. The initial choice of an antimicrobial in the patient with a suspected UTI is based on knowledge of the expected organisms and their antimicrobial susceptibilities. The spectrum of urinary pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns in our geographical area are presented. Moreover therapeutic regimens in the treatment of upper and lower UTI are discussed.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗