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S Stagno

Publications and source records attributed to S Stagno.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Infant pneumonitis associated with cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Pneumocystis, and Ureaplasma: a prospective study.

In a prospective study of 104 infants between 1 and 3 months of age hospitalized with pneumonitis, 65 (63%) had evidence of infection with one or more potential respiratory pathogens. Single infections were noted in 48 (74%) whereas mixed infections occurred in 17 (26%) of 65 infected infants. The four most common infections were Chlamydia trachomatis (15/59, 25%), Ureaplasma urealyticum (8/38, 21%), cytomegalovirus (21/104, 20%), and Pneumocystis carinii (19/104, 18%). In sharp contrast, the incidence of these infections in control infants was 0% (0/25), 4% (2/49), 3% (3/97), and 0% (0/64), respectively. The clinical, radiologic, and laboratory characteristics of the pneumonitis syndrome associated with Chlamydia, cytomegalovirus, and Pneumocystis were indistinguishable from each other. Patients with mixed infections had a more severe pneumonitis as measured by the occurrence of apnea and the need of oxygen therapy an mechanical ventilation. The patients enrolled in this study are being followed-up to determine the longitudinal course of these infections.

Chlamydia Infections↗

Molecular epidemiology of cytomegalovirus infections in women and their infants.

We studied cytomegaloviruses (CMV's) isolated from mothers and their children to determine whether recurrent infections and transmission to the fetus in immune women are due to reinfection or reactivaton of endogenous virus. Twenty-one strains of CMV from six mother-baby pairs, from two congenitally infected siblings, and from repeat isolates from four women were examined for genetic relatedness, by means of restriction endonuclease analysis of purified viral DNA. Although CMV's from unrelated persons were always different, strains from five to six congenitally infected babies were identical or very closely related to those from their mothers. Strains from congenitally infected siblings were also concordant, as were repeat isolates form three of four women. Major differences in viral DNA were detected in strains recovered from the same woman or from a mother-baby pair in only two cases. Endogenous CMV appears to be most frequent source of recurrent infection and intrauterine transmission in immune women; reinfection also occurs, but less commonly.

Cytomegalovirus↗

Serological investigation of BK papovavirus infection in pregnant women and their offspring.

Paired sera from 150 pregnant women and 387 umbilical cord sera were tested for BK virus (BKV) antibodies. The hemagglutination inhibition, neutralization, and indirect immunofluorescence tests were employed for the detection of antibodies. Treatment of serum with anti-gamma Fc and tests of immunoglobulin M (IgM) fractions for antibodies were utilized as required to detect and validate the presence of virus-specific IgM. The BKV antibody prevalence in the sera collected at the time of the first prenatal visit was 75% by hemagglutination inhibition and 91% by neutralization tests. A total of 95% of the women had antibodies by at least one of the three serological tests. Five of 100 women with normal pregnancies exhibited BKV activity during pregnancy as evidenced by a greater than fourfold rise in BKV hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers and acquisition of BKV-specific IgM. The antibody rise occurred in the younger women and appeared to be a result of reactivation of the virus rather than of primary infection. Two instances of possible recent BKV infections were identified. BKV-specific IgM was not detected in any of the 387 umbilical cord sera which included three specimens from infants born to mothers with definite or probable BKV activity during pregnancy and 50 specimens with IgM levels of > 20 mg/100 ml. The results indicate that few women in the child-bearing age are nonimmune to BKV and that, although reactivation of infection occurs in pregnancy, congenital transmission of the virus either does not occur or is rare.

Animals↗

Outcome of symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection: results of long-term longitudinal follow-up.

Thirty-four patients with congenital cytomegalovirus infection who were symptomatic as newborns were followed in a special clinic providing periodic medical and visual examinations as well as psychometric testing and audiometry. All patients had symptoms of congenital infection by 2 weeks of age, and 31 of 34 had virus isolated from urine within the first month of life. Age at latest follow-up varied from 9 months to 14 years with a mean of about 4 years. Ten patients died and 23 surviving patients had adequate follow-up examinations; all but two had evidence of central nervous system or auditory handicaps. Microcephaly was present in 16 (70%), mental retardation in 14 (61%), hearing loss in seven (30%), neuromuscular disorders in eight (35%), and chorioretinitis or optic atrophy in five (22%). Children with symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection are at very high risk for handicaps that will significantly impair development.

Adolescent↗

Comparative study of diagnostic procedures for congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

In a prospective study the incidence of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was 2.2% (31 OF 1,412) as evidenced by viruria during the first week of life. Among immunoserologic methods used to screen these neonates, the rheumatoid factor test, although non-specific, proved to be the most convenient; its sensitivity for identifying infants with CMV infection was 35% to 45% with no false-positives. The rates for correct and incorrect identification of neonates at risk was, respectively, 33% and 3.1% when testing for increased levels of IgM; 5% and 10% when testing for increased levels of IgA; 76% and 21% when testing for IgM anti-CMV (IgM immunofluorescent test) antibody, and 0% when testing for IgA anti-CMV antibody. Rapid virologic diagnosis was achieved by assessing urine specimens. Confirmation by electron microscopy was possible in less than one hour in 92% of cases. The detection of early induced CMV-specific nuclear antigens by anticomplement immunofluorescence was diagnostic in 91% of cases within one day of inoculation of specimens in tissue culture. Infectivity of CMV in urine was well preserved for a least seven days at 4 C. Thus, in order to achieve a rapid diagnosis of congenital CMV infection, in sick as well as asymptomatic neonates, urine specimens may, if necessary, be transported at 4 C to distant laboratories.

Child, Preschool↗

Toxoplasmosis.

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Cooking↗

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis in young immunocompetent infants.

Of 67 infants enrolled in a prospective study of infant pneumonia ten (14%) had evidence of Pneumocystis carinii infection. Diagnosis was achieved by demonstrating circulating P carinii antigens by counterimmunoelectrophoresis in all ten cases and by histopathology in the only infant who underwent an open lung biopsy. Antigenemia did not occur in 64 control infants (P = .003), nor in 57 patients of similar age who were hospitalized with pneumonitis due to Chlamydia trachomatis, respiratory syncytial virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, and influenza A and influenza B viruses. None of the ten infants with P carinii pneumonitis had evidence of a primary immunodeficiency nor had any received immunosuppressive medication. These patients were hospitalized at a mean age of 6 weeks (range 2 to 12) and their illness was characterized by its afebrile course, presentation in crisis with severe respiratory distress, apnea, tachypnea, cough, increased IgM, and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates with hyperaeration. The clinical features of P carinii pneumonitis were indistinguishable from those of C trachomatis and cytomegalovirus pneumonia. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was associated wtih rapid disappearance of circulating antigens; however, the small number of patients studied did not permit an analysis of its clinical efficacy. These results indicate that P carinii singly or in combination with other infectious agents may be an important cause of pneumonitis in young, immunocompetent infants with no underlying illnesses.

Female↗

An outbreak of toxoplasmosis linked to cats.

Clinical, serologic, and epidermiologic evidence documents an outbreak of toxoplasmosis involving ten of 30 members of an extended family. The index patient had unusual clinical manifestations including brain abscesses, progressive chorioretinitis, seizures, neurologic deficits, hepatosplenomegaly, pneumonitis, and eosinophilia. Toxoplasmosis was confirmed by demonstrating the organism in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluids; clinical and serologic evidence also indicated infection with Toxocara (viscd children. Of the 11 such children, seven (68%) were seropositive, six of whom had high acute-phase titers (greater than or equal to 1024) to Toxoplasma and a disease consistent with acute toxoplasmosis. All six of the latter group required specific chemotherapy. Geophagia was associated statistically with acute toxoplasmosis among the children; it also increased the risk of infection with Toxocara and enteroparasites. Two school-aged children and two adults had serologic evidence of acute toxoplasmosis, but only one of the group was symptomatic. Epidemiologic evidence indicates that this outbreak was probably caused by ingesting oocysts from cat feces. We suggest that the severe and unusual clinical manifestations of the index patient resulted from simultaneous infection with Toxoplasma and Toxocara.

Adult↗

Development of adverse sequelae in children born with subclinical congenital Toxoplasma infection.

Most infants born with congenital Toxoplasma infection are asymptomatic in the newborn period, and therefore their infection is not recognized. We performed follow-up evaluations on 24 such children. The mean age of these children at least examination was 8.5 years. In group I (13 children), the diagnosis was made prospectively. In group II (11 children), no symptoms or signs were noted in the newborn period and the diagnosis was made only after the first sign developed. Eighty-five percent of the children in group I and all of the children in group II have developed chorioretinitis. In group I, three children (23%) have unilateral blindness; in group II, three children (27%) and five children (45%) have unilateral and bilateral blindness, respectively. One child (8%) in group I and two children (18%) in group II developed severe, permanent neurologic sequelae after they initially presented with eye disease. Two of the children in each group are now retarded (IQ score range, 36 to 62). Six of the children in group I who were tested sequentially have had lower IQ scores (mean change from 97 to 74) on repeat tests performed an average of 5.5 years later. Less severe neurologic, intellectual, and audiologic deficits were observed in other children in each group. Treatment of some children may have had a beneficial effect on their outcome.

Adolescent↗

Transfer of measles, mumps, and rubella antibodies from mother to infant. Its effect on measles, mumps, and rubella immunization.

Sera from 42 mother-infant pairs were examined to determine the effect of passively acquired enhanced neutralizing (ENt) antibody on immunization. The ENt antibodies to measles, mumps, and rubella were greater in term newborns than in their mothers, with mean ratio of 1.8:1, 1.3:1, and 1.2:1, respectively. In 21% to 25% of the children, these antibodies persisted until 12 months of age. When immunized with trivalent measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, children who had persisting ENt measles and rubella titers had significantly lower mean antibody responses than children without detectable antibodies to the two viruses. Persisting ENt mumps antibodies did not affect the postimmunization titers. Seroconversion rates to any of the three viruses were not different in children with or without preexisting ENt antibody.

Antibodies, Viral↗

Natural history of perinatal cytomegaloviral infection.

Epidemiological data presented here indicate that cytomegaloviral (CMV) infection is one of the most common perinatal infections found in human beings. Transmission to the offspring occurs in utero at birth and postnatally. Intrauterine infection results from primary or recurrent maternal involvement, the latter being more common in populations where infection is initially acquired during childhood or adolescence, such as in low socioeconomic settings. Congenital infection is usually subclinical with either type of maternal involvement but primary infection has a greater tendency to produce disease in the fetus. About 20% of the offspring infected in utero are damaged, infrequently with generalized disease, but more often with auditory involvement. The latter can develop in utero or postnatally and can be progressive. The major cause of recurrent maternal infection according to restriction enzyme analysis is reactivation of latent virus, which occurs in the face of substantial maternal humoral immunity, even with intrauterine transmission of virus. Reinfection by exogenous virus remains a lesser possibility for maternal recurrences. Even more commonly, CMV can be transmitted at birth from the infected maternal genital tract and postnatally through infected breast milk, especially in highly immune populations. With the possible exception of early pneumonia, these infections appear to be innocuous.

Adolescent↗

Progressive hearing impairment in children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Audiological assessment of 86 children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection revealed progressive hearing loss in four of 12 subjects with sensorineural hearing impairments. Case descriptions are presented documenting the progression of the hearing loss. In view of the findings, children with congenital cytomegalovirus should be monitored closely to insure detection of possible delayed or progressive hearing impairment and delivery of appropriate habilitative services.

Auditory Threshold↗

Comparative prevalence of subclinical cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus infections in the genital and urinary tracts of low-income, urban women.

The prevalence of subclinical infections caused by cytomegaloviruses (CMV) and herpes simplex viruses (HSV) was assessed simultaneously in the genital and urinary tracts of 1,101 indigent women. Shedding of CMV from the genital and urinary tracts exceeded that of HSV by ninefold (8.89% vs. 0.95) and sevenfold (3.8% vs. 0.51%), respectively. Pregnancy, regardless of gestational age, had no discernible influence on productive infection with either virus in either the genital or the urinary tract. In contrast, age was a significant variable, especially with CMV. The prevalence of CMV shedding decreased steadily with age, from peak values of 15% and 8% in the genital and urinary tracts, respectively, of females 11-14 years of age to undetectable levels in females 31 years of age and older. Productive HSV infection was more prevalent in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women: 2.4% vs. 0.8% and 3.1% vs. 0.2% in the genital and urinary tracts, respectively. Likewise, HSV infection of both the genital and the urinary tract combined was more common in older than in younger females.

Adolescent↗

Rapid diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infection in infants by electron microscopy.

Electron microscopy was applied to the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infection in infants; we used the pseudoreplica method, which permits detection of herpesvirus particles within 15 to 30 minutes. Viruses were most readily detectable in urines with infectivity titers greater than or equal to 10(4) per milliliter (95 per cent correlation with the tissue-culture method). Virus particles were detected in 18 of 20 urines obtained from symptomatic or asymptomatic, congenitally or postnatally acquired cytomegalovirus infections in infants younger than six months. Viruses were demonstrated in six of 14 infants older than six months, whose urines usually contained greater than 10(4) per milliliter. All five oral specimens examined by electron microscopy were also positive. Viruses were readily detectable in specimens stored or shipped at 4 degrees C for several days, thus permitting physicians anywhere to obtain confirmation of a herpesvirus infection (presumably cytomegalovirus) within one to two days.

Cytomegalovirus↗