Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

T Pettersson

Publications and source records attributed to T Pettersson.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Treatment of lower respiratory tract infections with ceftazidime.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of ceftazidime in the treatment of patients with lower respiratory tract infection. Fifty patients were included. Most of the patients received 1.0 g ceftazidime im three times daily. Thirty-seven patients were cured and eight improved (90%). A pathogen was isolated in 19 cases, (sputum 14, blood 4 and pleural fluid 1). The micro-organism was eradicated from the sputum in all but two cases. The result was unassessable in one. One or more side-effects probably related to the drug were found in 15 patients (30%), pain at injection site (10), an allergic rash (2), diarrhoea (2), pyrexia (1) and dyspnoea (1). Abnormal laboratory tests were seen in seven patients, an elevation in liver enzymes (4), an elevation in urea (1), leucopenia and granulocytopenia (1) and haemolytic anaemia (1). Most of the side-effects were mild and transient but the drug was stopped in five cases. The diarrhoea was severe in one case and the granulocytopenia was noted at a check-up four months after the treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Alveolitis during chrysotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

A patient who developed dry cough and increasing breathlessness during chrysotherapy for seropositive rheumatoid arthritis is presented. Chest radiograms were repeatedly normal, but there was a moderate decrease in pulmonary diffusing capacity. Transbronchial lung biopsy showed alveolitis. No cellular immunity to gold salts could be demonstrated in vitro. Pulmonary function improved after withdrawal of gold, indicating that chrysotherapy rather than systemic rheumatoid disease was the cause of the alveolitis.

Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic↗
PubMed1983

Fever of unknown origin: a follow-up investigation of 34 patients.

34 patients hospitalized for fever of unknown origin (FUO) were subjected to a follow-up investigation on the average 5 yr after the hospital stay. Two patients had died of a disease related to FUO: one had adenocarcinoma with an unknown primary site and the other a supposed autoimmune disease. In one case the cause of FUO was a periappendicular abscess. A woman continued to have periods of fever with high ESR. In the remaining 30 cases the cause of FUO had apparently been a self-limited, benign disease. In contrast to an earlier series from our clinic, no cases of tuberculosis were revealed.

Abscess↗
PubMed1983

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The first cases in Finland.

We report here on the first two patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Finland. The first patient, a 37-year-old man, had Kaposi's sarcoma and the other, a 26-year-old man, had pneumonia due to Pneumocystis carinii. Both patients were homosexuals and showed a marked defect in cell-mediated immunity consistent with the definition of AIDS. Both patients were found in a screening survey of homosexual men in Helsinki.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1983

Serum LD-1 activity in suspected acute myocardial infarction.

We have studied the diagnostic value of measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LD) isoenzyme 1 in serum of 331 cases of suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI). At a discriminatory level of 200 U/L (Scandinavian Committee on Enzymes, recommended method for the determination of LD) LD 1 verified the diagnosis in 96% of the AMI cases and excluded it in 96% of the not-AMI cases when samples were drawn 24-72 h after onset of pain. The correlation between 24-h S-LD-1 and 16-h S-CK B activities was 0.94 in the AMI cases. We found that quantitation of serum LD-1 is diagnostically more reliable than the serum LD-1/LD ratio.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

The incidence and aetiology of central nervous system infections in Helsinki in 1980.

The aetiology of central nervous system infections was surveyed in a study at Aurora Hospital, Helsinki, in 1980. Of the 146 patients with central nervous system infections, 113 had aseptic meningitis, 23 bacterial and one tuberculous meningitis, and nine meningoencephalitis or encephalitis. The probable aetiology of aseptic meningitis was established in 67% of the 106 patients properly tested, the commonest agents being mumps (27%), Coxsackie (24%) and ECHO (9%) viruses. Haemophilus influenza type b was the most frequent cause of bacterial meningitis (39%), occurring solely among infants and young children. There were no cases due to Neisseria meningitidis group A, which used earlier to be epidemic in Finland. The incidences of aseptic, bacterial and tuberculous meningitis in Helsinki in 1980 (based on a total of 174 patients treated in the three hospitals admitting patients with central nervous system infections) were 26.7, 5.2 and 0.2 cases per 100,100 annually, and those of encephalitides and myelitis 3.5 and 0.6 cases per 100,000 annually.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Fibronectin in exudative pleural effusions.

Fibronectin is a glycoprotein found in body fluids, loose connective tissue matrix and in basement membranes. Fibronectin in pleural effusion was found to be immunologically indistinguishable from the plasma form, as shown by double-diffusion analysis. Fibronectin isolated from pleural fluid by affinity chromatography on gelatin-Sepharose had a polypeptide pattern similar to that of plasma fibronectin in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In 28 patients with infectious or non-specific pleural effusion fibronectin concentrations in pleural fluid were 335 +/- 104 micrograms/ml (mean +/- SD), in 15 patients with malignant disease the concentrations were 369 +/- 173 micrograms/ml and in 26 patients with tuberculosis 441 +/- 103 micrograms/ml. The highest concentrations, 605 +/- 252 micrograms/ml, of fibronectin in pleural fluid were detected in 14 patients with connective tissue diseases. The results suggest that increased fibronectin concentrations reflect the presence of a pleurisy due to connective tissue disease or tuberculosis rather than other infectious or malignant disease.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1982

Chemical and immunological features of pleural effusions: comparison between rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

The value of determination of pleural fluid glucose, pH, lactic dehydrogenase, IgG, IgA, IgM, C3, C4, anti-IgG antibody, and hydroxyproline in distinguishing between pleural effusions caused by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those resulting from other diseases was studied. The series comprised seven patients with RA and 115 patients with other diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus, tuberculosis, malignant disease, empyema, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and nonspecific pleural effusion. The low glucose concentration, the low pH and the low C4 level in rheumatoid pleural effusion were the most valuable diagnostic findings. The presence of anti-IgG antibody in pleural fluid was not specific for RA. The concentration of hydroxyproline in pleural fluid and the pleural fluid-to-plasma hydroxyproline ratio were significantly higher in RA than in tuberculosis and malignant disease. The results support the view that local metabolic and immunological phenomena as well as a high turnover of collagen occur in the pleural cavity in RA.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Thyroid associated components in serum during normal pregnancy.

Thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG(, thyroxine-binding pre-albumin (TBPA), thyroxine (T4), free-T4, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were studied throughout apparently normal pregnancy in 290 cases grouped in 2 week intervals. TBG increased to a plateau level reached in the 24th week and was hereafter unchanged until term. T4 showed an increase until the 16th week of pregnancy and levelled off to a constant level for the rest of the pregnancy. Free-T4 declined to almost subnormal values for the non-pregnancy state which was reached around the 20th week of pregnancy. T3 showed a slight and definite increase in the beginning of pregnancy and levelled off to a constant value after the 14th week. TSH increased towards the end of pregnancy also showing its maximum during the last 4 weeks. TBPA showed constant values throughout pregnancy. The results are discussed in view of the use of modern techniques and previously missing data in literature (TBPA).

Female↗
PubMed1982

Beta 2 microglobulin in pleural effusions.

Beta 2 microglobulin (beta 2m) concentrations in serum and pleural fluid from 64 patients with pleural effusion were studied. The level of beta 2m in pleural fluid was generally twice that in serum. The ratio of pleural fluid beta 2m to serum beta 2m in patients groups defined according to the final diagnosis showed an interestingly high value in tuberculous pleuritis and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with pleural effusion. There was a positive correlation between the beta 2m and lysozyme contents in pleural fluid, suggesting local and simultaneous activation of different cell lines when the pleura is involved. We suggest that pleural fluid and concomitant serum beta 2m measurements should be taken into consideration when pleural effusion of tuberculous origin is suspected. Furthermore, beta 2m determination might help to differentiate between rheumatoid pleural fluid and pleural involvement due to the other systemic diseases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

In vitro production of leucocyte migration inhibitory factor by lymphocytes in exudative pleural effusions.

The indirect leucocyte migration inhibition test was used to investigate production of leucocyte migration inhibitory factor (LIF) by lymphocytes from pleural fluid and peripheral blood. The samples were taken from 19 patients with exudative pleural effusion resulting from malignant disease (n = 9), tuberculosis (n = 5) and nonspecific causes (n = 5). The lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of leucoagglutinin (LA) and purified protein derivative (PPD) and without mitogen or antigen. Although LIF production varied widely, pleural fluid lymphocytes from patients with benign diseases produced significantly more LIF in response to LA than pleural fluid lymphocytes from patients with malignant disease. In comparison to peripheral blood, the LA induced LIF production by pleural fluid lymphocytes was significantly enhanced in patients with nonspecific pleural effusion and significantly reduced in patients with malignant disease. However, pleural fluid lymphocytes from four patients with malignant disease produced LIF spontaneously, suggesting that they were already stimulated in vivo. In tuberculous pleural effusions the percentage of macrophages correlated negatively with the LIF production induced by LA and PPD. Lymphokines produced by sensitized lymphocytes in pleural fluid may be important in the local response to infectious agents and tumour growth by affecting the cellular composition of the effusion.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Clinical and serological studies in patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni infection: I. Clinical findings.

Stool samples from 775 patients with diarrhoea referred to a hospital over an 18-month period were cultured for Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni, and in 55 patients (7.1%), infections were identified. In addition, one asymptomatic patient had a positive stool sample and serological evidence of a current infection. The patients were aged between 11 and 76 years, the majority being in the age group 15 to 39 years. The symptoms included diarrhoea (in almost 100%), fever (in 80%) and abdominal tenderness (in 35%). Almost half the patients vomited. The total leucocyte count was usually normal, but half the patients showed increased numbers of juvenile neutrophils. Eosinopenia and high serum C-reactive protein were frequently seen in the acute phase of the illness. Complications included haematemesis, pancreatic affection, carditis, reactive arthritis, urticaria, and transient malabsorption in one patient who had had a previous Billroth II operation. Invasive disease was occasionally suggested by clinical manifestations of extensive mesenteric lymphadenitis, septicaemia and focal bone necrosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Clinical and serological studies in patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni infection: II. Serological findings.

The serological responses of 53 patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni enteritis were determined with formalinized, boiled and autoclaved antigen suspensions of four reference strains and the autologous isolate. Agglutinin titres of 400 or greater were found against both formalinized and boiled reference antigens in 64% of the patients. Using boiled reference antigens five seropositive patients were found who had not been detected with the formalinized reference antigens, and vice versa. Autoclaved antigens were less useful. The use of paired sera permitted the demonstration of a serological response in some additional patients, although their maximal titre did not exceed 200. The total number of patients with serological responses to reference antigens was thus 48 (91%). The use of autologous antigens detected only one further patient.

Antigen-Antibody Reactions↗
PubMed1981

Q fever in Finland: clinical, immunological and epidemiological findings.

Clinical, immunological and epidemiological features of 14 human cases of Q fever diagnosed at Aurora Hospital are presented. All patients had an acute febrile disease and 9 (64%) had respiratory symptoms, 4 (29%) verified pneumonia, and 9 (64%) hepatitis, which in 4 biopsied cases proved to be granulomatous. Presence of circulating immune complexes was shown in 10/11 patients investigated by the platelet aggregation test (PAT) and the platelet iodinated protein A (PIPA) test. Q fever is not known to be endemic in the Nordic Countries. However, the causative agent, Coxiella burnetii, should tolerate our climate and there is a rich potential animal reservoir. All patients had visited some endemic area shortly before they were taken ill. In 3 cases the interval between arrival in Finland and the onset of symptoms was more than double the reported maximal incubation period, namely 69, 75 and 88 days. We suggest that these patients acquired the infection after their return to Finland from their clothing or from souvenirs. If so, Q fever could be acquired by this mechanism by persons who have never visited an area where the disease is endemic.

Adult↗