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Biomedical subjects

T Weinke

Publications and source records attributed to T Weinke.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Infection caused by gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A comparative study].

The clinical symptomatology of bacterial septicemias was analysed in 417 patients of a University Hospital in West Berlin. Sepsis was caused by Gram-negative organisms in 229 cases, and by Gram-positive bacteria in 177 cases; 11 cases presented with a mixed type sepsis involving both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens. With the exception of a drop in blood pressure, observed appreciably more often in Gram-negative infections (42.4% of the cases as compared with only 25.4% in the case of septicemia due to Gram-positive organisms, (p less than 0.01), no significant clinical differences were seen between Gram-negative and Gram-positive sepsis. Pathophysiological changes (thrombopenia, leukopenia, coagulopathies) that are considered classical reactions to endotoxin, were also observed in Gram-positive infections. The overall prognosis of septicemia was determined largely by the severity of the underlying pathological condition.

Bacterial Infections↗

Clinical features and management of amebic liver abscess. Experience from 29 patients.

29 patients with amebic liver abscess were evaluated in a study to examine clinical picture, laboratory data, epidemiology, radiologic methods, and therapy. Since the clinical picture was unspecific a considerable amount of misdiagnoses occurred, and often originated from pulmonary symptoms. To establish diagnosis one should rely on the triad with positive amebic serology, intrahepatic scanning defects, and clinical picture with fever, right upper quadrant pain, and hepatomegaly. Nearly all patients had an exposure history of travel or immigration from endemic areas in the tropics. Medical therapy with metronidazole alone is highly effective and leads to defervescence and clinical improvement usually within 3-5 days. Invasive procedures, such as needle aspiration or surgical drainage of the abscess are rarely needed; these invasive methods neither shorten the course of the disease nor improve prognosis.

Adult↗

Cryptococcosis in AIDS patients: observations concerning CNS involvement.

The clinical course and response to therapy of seven patients with cryptococcosis and AIDS were reviewed. One patient was still in the primary stage of cryptococcosis in AIDS, i.e. the stage that is characterized by the sole cultural detection of Cryptococcus neoformans in the respiratory tract. The other six patients were in the secondary stage, where C. neoformans can be detected from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, urine, faeces and other body sites. The main presenting features (headache, fever, nausea) were due to central nervous system involvement, although meningism and mental changes were rarely present, and CSF changes were very subtle. Treatment with amphotericin B and flucytosine was very effective, there being no more growth of fungi in cultures in most cases. Adverse reactions to the drugs used occurred frequently and consisted mainly of anaemia, hepatosis and fever. Diagnosis in the primary stage of cryptococcosis may improve the prognosis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[Side effects of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in patients with AIDS].

Forty-nine episodes of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole among 46 patients with AIDS were analysed retrospectively for any side effects. For only two were there insufficient data. There were 39 toxic reactions, 15 of them serious: leukopenia (n = 23), abnormal liver functions (n = 14), skin changes (n = 12), gastrointestinal complaints (n = 10) and thrombocytopenia (n = 9). In nine patients the treatment had to be discontinued, in six of them so early that a switch to pentamidine was necessary. Gastrointestinal symptoms occurred as early as the sixth day of treatment, while leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were first observed after 12-13 days. Despite the high rate of side effects trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole remains the drugs of choice, other regimens not having been found to be any better.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[The importance of Entamoeba histolytica in persons returning from the tropics].

Stools from 1000 travellers returning from the tropics were examined for intestinal parasites. The most frequently isolated intestinal pathogens were Giardia lamblia (5%) and E. histolytica (3.6%). For 21 out of 36 E. histolytica isolates iso-enzyme differentiation by starch-gel electrophoresis was possible, yielding a pathogenic pattern in four. This finding correlated closely with clinical symptoms and positive serology, while E. histolytica with non-pathogenic zymodeme should not be considered as a cause of diarrhoea.

Adult↗

Amebic liver abscess in a European patient: zymodeme classification of Entamoeba histolytica.

This is a case report of a 36-year-old patient who developed an amebic liver abscess after a stay in the Sudan. He was first misdiagnosed as having pneumonia of the right lower lobe. Following establishment of the correct diagnosis, the patient recovered fully after metronidazole treatment. The fecal culture in Robinson's medium yielded extensive growth of Entamoeba histolytica. Electrophoretic characterization proved it to be a zymodeme XIX, which is one of the zymodemes associated with pathogenicity in the host. This first report of a zymodeme classification of E. histolytica in Germany should initiate further epidemiological studies.

Adult↗

Cardiac morbidity due to Chagas' disease in a rural community in Bolivia.

The prevalence of cardiac morbidity due to Chagas' disease was assessed in a rural community in Central Bolivia. Sixty-nine of 104 persons (66%) were seropositive to Trypanosoma cruzi by two serological methods. Two of 35 (6%) seronegative individuals presented with modest ECG alterations (left anterior hemiblock), but 21 of 69 (30%) seropositives showed modest and severe abnormalities (6 complete right bundle branch block, 2 polyfocal or frequent extrasystoles, 9 ischaemic ST alterations). A high percentage (56%) of domiciliary Triatoma infestans was infected with T. cruzi. There was a significant association between seropositivity and substandard housing. Priority preventive measures should thus include house improvement (to reduce bug infestation) and health education.

Adult↗

Isoenzyme patterns of Entamoeba histolytica isolated from homosexual men.

This is a preliminary report on isoenzyme patterns of Entamoeba histolytica which were examined by starch gel electrophoresis. By this means the amoebae isolated from 17 asymptomatic male homosexuals were characterized into zymodemes. No amoebic strain isolated corresponded to a pathogenic zymodeme.

Amebiasis↗

[Malaria prevention. Risk of infection in relation to preventive measures].

Between 1980 and 1985 falciparum malaria was diagnosed in 28 and tertian malaria in 17 patients. Only three of the 35 non-immune patients complied with the appropriate chemoprophylaxis; these three patients nevertheless developed tertian malaria (recurrences caused by "dormant" merozoites). The main drawbacks of chemoprophylaxis were lack of patient compliance (26 out of 35 patients) and inappropriate medical advice (14 out of 35 patients). Initial symptoms developed within one month after the end of exposition in 21 out of 23 patients infected by Plasmodium falciparum, but only in three out of twelve cases of tertian malaria. Risk of infection by Plasmodium falciparum is highest in Africa, while most of the malaria cases in India are caused by Plasmodium vivax. Long-term prophylaxis using pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine (Fansidar) is not advisable as there is a risk of life-threatening side effects.

Adult↗

Listeria meningitis: report of ten recent cases and review of current therapeutic recommendations.

Ten cases of meningitis due to Listeria monocytogenes were admitted to three hospitals in Berlin between 1978 and 1983. One patient was a premature infant in whom meningitis was diagnosed as part of typical granulomatosis infantiseptica. Another presented with signs of brainstem encephalitis which was confirmed post mortem. Positive blood cultures were obtained from five of the patients. Two strains of listeria were resistant and one was only moderately sensitive to penicillin. The three most recently isolated strains were tested for sensitivity to the third generation cephalosporins. All were resistant to latamoxef, and two were resistant to cefotaxime. The implications of these findings for the empirical treatment of purulent meningitis are discussed.

Adult↗

Three-year prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria in an urban patient population in Germany.

The prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria over a three-year period was 3.1% in an urban population in Germany. Nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. (1.8% prevalence) represented 59.3% of all positive isolates, followed by Campylobacter spp., which constituted 22.1% of such isolates. Clostridium difficile toxin was detected in 5.6% of samples submitted specifically for detection of cytotoxigenic C. difficile. The seasonal distribution showed an increase of Salmonella, Shigella and Aeromonas/Plesiomonas isolates in the post-holiday season, partly due to returning travelers. An epidemic five-fold increase of Salmonella enteritidis isolates was found over the three-year-period. Enteropathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and cytotoxigenic C. difficile were common etiologic agents of gastrointestinal tract infections in patients with AIDS. We conclude that travelers and HIV-infected subjects are especially prone to infection with enteropathogenic bacteria; preventive measures to control the Salmonella enteritidis epidemic are essential.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Prevalence and epidemiological significance of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among Latin American immigrants in Berlin, Germany.

A survey was conducted among Latin American immigrants living in Berlin to investigate the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection and to evaluate possible risk factors. One hundred persons were interviewed about risk factors (rural origin, contact with the reduviid bug) and evaluated serologically. The sera were tested with indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). All samples seroreactive with IIF were additionally evaluated with an ELISA for T. cruzi antibodies. To rule out cross-reactivity all seroreactive sera were tested with IIF for Leishmania infantum antibodies. Two persons were seroreactive in IIF and ELISA and three were seroreactive in the IIF only. The overall seroprevalence according to WHO criteria was therefore 2% (2/100). All samples were negative for Leishmania antibodies. Only one of the seropositive persons showed a risk factor for T. cruzi infection in their medical history. These findings suggest that routine serologic testing of Latin Americans is indicated to reduce the risk of transmission by blood transfusion and congenital transmission.

Adult↗