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Biomedical subjects

R Raz

Publications and source records attributed to R Raz.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Single low-dose ofloxacin for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection in young women.

Fifty premenopausal women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) were treated with a single dose of 100 mg of ofloxacin. Duration of symptoms before the treatment, number of episodes of UTI during the last year, association with sexual activity, and the use of contraceptives were evaluated in relation to the clinical and microbiological response. Forty-seven women (94%) were cured clinically and microbiologically three days after treatment. Follow up at 28 days disclosed that 43 (86%) were free of symptoms and in 40 (80%) the urinary cultures were negative. Significantly higher rates of microbiological failure or reinfection were found among women with three or more episodes of UTI during the last year. This study shows that a single dose of ofloxacin is effective for therapy of uncomplicated UTI in young women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

The use of ceftriaxone in ambulatory patients.

Twenty ambulatory patients, living in kibbutzim (communal villages, which have a permanent medical staff) were treated with ceftriaxone 1 g daily I.M. for ten days. These patients suffered from moderate to severe infections which were not life-threatening. Twelve had urinary tract infections (UTI), 3 of which were positive blood cultures. Four patients had soft tissue infections (one with a Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus bacteremia). Three patients had respiratory infections, and one elderly patient had Salmonella typhimurium gastroenteritis. All the patients in this series were clinically cured. Three patients with a UTI experienced reinfection. The woman with S. typhimurium gastroenteritis had persistent positive fecal cultures, but was asymptomatic. These 4 patients did not require further antibiotic therapy. The only side effect observed was mild diarrhea in one patient. Two other ambulatory patients with typhoid fever were treated with ceftriaxone 2 g daily I.V. for 10 days with excellent results. Our work showed that ceftriaxone 1 g daily can be a safe and inexpensive antimicrobial choice to shorten or prevent hospitalization.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Diagnostic and therapeutic approach to Ethiopian immigrants seropositive for syphilis.

Serologic tests for syphilis are frequently positive in Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel. Forty-three of 358 adults (greater than 15 years of age) examined were found to have positive treponemal tests. Of the 418 children (1 to 15 years of age) none were found to have positive treponemal serology. Forty seropositive adults were examined for signs of tertiary syphilis and underwent lumbar puncture. No evidence of skin or cardiovascular involvement of tertiary syphilis was found. In three patients whose cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was reactive in treponemal tests, there was no evidence of neuropsychiatric involvement. CSF cell count and protein content were normal in all three, and VDRL in the CSF was negative. None of the subjects was found to have stigmata of congenital syphilis. Negative serological findings in all the children led us to hypothesize whether the disease in question is venereal syphilis with an unusual course rather than endemic syphilis or yaws, both of which are known to exist in Africa. Due to the apparent benign course of syphilis in this ethnic group and recent evidence that lumbar puncture is not mandatory in patients with latent syphilis or asymptomatic neurosyphilis, we suggest that CSF should not be routinely examined in these patients. In view of the recommendations in the literature and the data that we have collected, we strongly feel that treatment with weekly i.m. injections of 2.4 x 10(6) u benzathine penicillin for a 3-week period is sufficient.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Clinical evaluation of aztreonam for serious gram-negative bacterial infections.

In an open study aztreonam was evaluated for efficacy and safety in 20 hospital in-patients presenting with presumptive or confirmed hospital acquired aerobic gram-negative infections. The overall clinical cure rate was 100% (19/19) with a corresponding microbiological cure rate of 100% in those patients in whom an organism was isolated initially (17/17). Reinfection with enterococcus occurred in 2 patients with UTI within a week of stopping aztreonam and one patient developed superinfection during treatment, but none were given any additional therapy. No evidence of drug-associated toxicity was found on any of the laboratory evaluations. One patient developed diarrhea 3 days after starting therapy, was withdrawn from the study and subsequently excluded from the analysis. One other patient remained febrile despite evidence of clinical and microbiological cure. Both these incidents were thought to be possibility drug-related. This study confirms aztreonam as a safe and effective way to treat patients with serious gram-negative infections.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Infection with Streptococcus milleri.

Streptococcus milleri is unique among the viridans streptococci because it produces abscesses. Five serious S. milleri infections were seen in our hospital in 1 year. The English literature dealing with S. milleri was reviewed. An infection caused by S. milleri is often associated with a gastro-intestinal source. Thus, the speciation of viridans streptococci from pus or blood cultures is clinically relevant. The identification of S. milleri from blood cultures suggests the possibility of serious purulent infection, the source of which may lie in the gastro-intestinal tract. The resultant clinical approach to S. milleri infection is discussed.

Abscess↗
PubMed1987

Dilemmas of streptococcal pharyngitis.

Although the Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus is the most common cause of acute bacterial pharyngitis in childhood, the clinical diagnosis is often not straightforward and throat cultures are advisable. To avoid unnecessary antibiotics, treatment should be delayed until culture results are available. Patients with negative cultures should discontinue any antibiotics already started on clinical grounds. Positive cultures may represent a carrier state, which can be identified by serologic studies.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1987

Hepatic alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases in liver disease.

To investigate the influence of liver injury on the activities of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), these enzymes have been measured in tissue from alcoholic and non alcoholic patients with different severity of liver damage. ADH and ALDH activities decreased proportionatelly with the progression of liver disease in alcoholics. By contrast, in non-alcoholics, there was a reduction of Low-Km ALDH related with the severity of liver injury but ADH was similar in patients with chronic hepatitis and non-alcoholic cirrhosis. Furthermore, ADH was significantly lower in alcoholic than in non-alcoholic cirrhotics. These results suggests that the decreased ADH and ALDH in alcoholics are not primary abnormalities predisposing to alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease. The diminution of ADH found only in alcoholics could be due to the loss of the enzyme produced by centrolobulillar cell necrosis, that is often observed in alcoholic liver disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Hereditary complement deficiency in survivors of meningococcal disease: high prevalence of C7/C8 deficiency in Sephardic (Moroccan) Jews.

The prevalence of complement deficiency was studied among 111 survivors of sporadic meningococcal disease located through the medical records of 10 Israeli hospitals. There were 11 patients with CH50 = 0: one with systemic lupus erythematosus and 10 with hereditary terminal complement deficiency (four with homozygous C7 and six with C8 deficiency). There was no hereditary complement deficiency among 39 Ashkenazi subjects as against 18 per cent among 38 Sephardi subjects and 40 per cent among 15 of Moroccan ancestry (p less than 0.05). The age at first presentation of meningococcal disease in complement deficient patients was 14.7 +/- 7.6, years compared with 8.1 +/- 10.9 in the non-deficient patients (p less than 0.025). None of the complement deficient patients had meningitis below the age of 5 years vs. 49 per cent of non-deficient subjects. Recurrent meningitis was observed in 40 vs. 4 per cent (p less than 0.01) and meningitis in siblings in 40 vs. 2 per cent respectively (p less than 0.001). In addition to the 10 propositi, 11 non-propositus siblings were identified with severe complement deficiency (six with homozygous C7 and five with C8 deficiency). Seven of the non-propositi had no history at all of meningitis or any other serious systemic disease, underlining the relatively favourable prognosis of terminal complement deficiency. With increasing familiarity with the clinical features of this hereditary disease, it is possible now to identify on clinical grounds patients with meningococcal disease with a high likelihood of terminal complement deficiency.

Adolescent↗