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Biomedical subjects

Z Farid

Publications and source records attributed to Z Farid.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Laboratory diagnosis of bacterial meningitis.

This overview summarizes studies conducted since 1970 on the laboratory diagnosis of bacterial meningitis at the Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3. These investigations demonstrated that counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE), agglutination of sensitized staphylococcal cells or latex particles, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) effectively detect and identify specific antigens in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with meningococcal, pneumococcal, and Haemophilus meningitis. ELISA was the most sensitive of these methods and CIE the least sensitive. ELISA was also used to measure antibodies to meningococcal outer membrane protein antigens in patients. Finally, high rates of group A meningococcal nasopharyngeal carriage were found in group A meningococcal meningitis patients and populations associated with group A patients, but not in populations that were not associated with group A disease.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1991

Dexamethasone adjunctive treatment for tuberculous meningitis.

During a 5-year period, 280 of 2010 patients admitted to the meningitis ward of a referral hospital in Cairo, Egypt, were clinically diagnosed as having tuberculous meningitis and were treated with either antituberculous chemotherapy and dexamethasone or antituberculous chemotherapy alone. Fatality rates and neurologic sequelae were compared for the 2 treatment groups in the 160 patients who had cerebrospinal fluid cultures positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The overall mortality rate of 51% reflects the delay in receiving appropriate therapy (79% with symptoms for more than 2 weeks) and the severity of illness on admission (56% in coma, 39% drowsy). The fatality rate was significantly lower in the group receiving dexamethasone (43% vs. 59%, P less than 0.05), particularly in the drowsy patients (15% vs. 40% P less than 0.04), and in patients surviving long enough to receive at least 10 days of treatment (14% vs. 33%, P less than 0.02). Development of neurologic complications after initiation of therapy (4 vs. 10) and permanent sequelae (6 vs. 13) were significantly lower in the dexamethasone-treated group (P less than 0.02).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Aztreonam for treating meningitis caused by gram-negative rods.

10 patients with meningitis due to unusual gram-negative organisms (Pseudomonas, Proteus, Salmonella and Klebsiella) were effectively treated with aztreonam. A detailed history and a thorough physical examination combined with careful laboratory testing resulted in accurate diagnosis and cure of all patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Ceftriaxone versus chloramphenicol in the treatment of enteric fever.

Fifty-five patients with culture-proven Salmonella typhi and paratyphi enteric fever were assigned to one of two therapeutic regimens. Group I received ceftriaxone 60-80 mg/kg/day intramuscularly for 5-7 days, those in group II received chloramphenicol 50-80 mg/kg/day orally in 4 divided doses for 12-14 days. both groups were comparable as regards age, sex, severity and duration of symptoms prior to admission. A significant reduction in the mean number of days taken for patients to become afebrile, disappearance of clinical signs and symptoms, duration of therapy and hospital stay were observed in patients receiving ceftriaxone as compared to those receiving chloramphenicol. None of the patients receiving ceftriaxone relapsed, while three patients receiving chloramphenicol relapsed. No major reactions were seen with either drug.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The use of the bromine partition test in the diagnosis and prognosis of tuberculous meningitis.

The bromine partition test was successfully used to differentiate cases of proven tuberculous meningitis from patients with aseptic and non-tuberculous meningitis. Forty patients, 22 males and 18 females aged 5 to 30 years (mean 13.5 +/- 6.2), were included in the study. Nineteen patients were confirmed to have tuberculous meningitis, 12 had aseptic meningitis, and 9 bacterial meningitis. All patients received 0.6 mci/kg of bromine 82 administered through a nasogastric tube as ammonium bromide dissolved in 5 ml of isotonic sodium chloride. The serum to CSF bromine ratio was then calculated 48 hours after the dose. The test was then repeated 8 days later in patients with bacterial meningitis and 8, 90, and 180 day later in patients with tuberculous meningitis. The test was very useful in quickly differentiating cases of aseptic from bacterial and tuberculous meningitis and was also a useful prognosticator in patients with severe tuberculous meningitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

HIV infection in Egypt: a two and a half year surveillance.

From April 1986 to mid-October 1988, 19,767 blood samples from individuals of 27 Governorates in Egypt were screened for antibodies to HIV-1. Risk groups included: drug addicts, prostitutes, patients with sexually transmitted diseases or fever of unknown origin, blood or blood product recipients, patients with mental disorders, and contacts of HIV-infected persons. Sera from routine blood donors and foreigners were also tested. All samples which reacted repeatedly by commercial ELISAs were assessed by Western blot (DuPont) for confirmation. Results indicated that 139 (0.70%) of the sera produced repeatedly reactive results by ELISA. Sixty-nine of these were confirmed by Western blot as HIV seropositive. This constituted 0.35% of the total population tested. Only 26 (0.15%) of the Egyptians tested were positive and a total of seven sero-positive individuals were classified as having clinical AIDS. All Egyptian blood donors were negative. Data generated during this 2.5-year HIV serosurvey indicate that the prevalence of confirmed HIV infection in Egypt was exceptionally low, and suggest that HIV is not endemic in Egypt, since all 26 sero-positive Egyptians were linked to HIV exposure abroad.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Dexamethasone treatment for bacterial meningitis in children and adults.

Four hundred twenty-nine patients with bacterial meningitis were assigned on a nonselective alternating basis into one of two therapeutic regimens. Patients in Group I received dexamethasone in addition to standard antibacterial chemotherapy of ampicillin and chloramphenicol whereas those in Group II received antibacterial chemotherapy alone. Dexamethasone was given intramuscularly (8 mg to children younger than 12 years and 12 mg to adults every 12 hours for 3 days). Both treatment groups were comparable with regard to age, sex, duration of symptoms and state of consciousness at the time of hospitalization. A significant reduction in the case fatality rate (P less than 0.01) was observed in patients with pneumococcal meningitis receiving dexamethasone; only 7 of 52 patients died compared with 22 of 54 patients not receiving dexamethasone. A reduction in the overall neurologic sequelae (hearing impairment and paresis) was observed in patients receiving dexamethasone. This reduction was significant only in patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis; none of the 45 surviving patients receiving steroids had hearing loss whereas 4 of 32 patients not receiving dexamethasone had severe hearing loss (P less than 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups with regard to time for patients to become afebrile or to regain consciousness or in the mean admission and 24- to 36-hour cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte count, glucose or protein content.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Serological differentiation of acute and chronic schistosomiasis mansoni by antibody responses to keyhole limpet hemocyanin.

The existence of a shared epitope between the hemocyanin of the marine mollusk Megathura crenulata, better known as the keyhole limpet, and schistosomula has been reported. This epitope has been shown to be a major immunogen in human infection. In this study, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) was used to measure antibodies recognizing the cross-reacting epitopes in sera from patients with acute and chronic schistosomiasis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Marked differences in IgG and IgM antibody response were noted between acutely and chronically infected patients at a reciprocal serum dilution of up to 2,560. The acute sera had a mean +/- SD OD490 nm values for IgG and IgM of 1.0 +/- 0.44 and 1.34 +/- 0.6 compared to mean +/- SD IgG and IgM absorbance for the chronic sera of 0.22 +/- 0.10 and 0.22 +/- 0.11 respectively. Setting our lowest positive limit at greater than 2 SD above the mean of the chronic sera, 28 of the 30 patients previously diagnosed as having acute schistosomiasis were correctly identified by their IgG and IgM response. Of 5 patients studied longitudinally, IgG persisted at the same levels 10-13 weeks after treatment. IgM levels, on the other hand, showed a tendency to decrease but remained above the established cut-off level. This study provides further evidence for the association of schistosomulum surface carbohydrate antibody with acute infection and demonstrates the ability of a simple non-competitive ELISA using microtiter plates coated with minute quantities of KLH to differentiate serologically between cases of acute and chronic schistosomiasis.

Acute Disease↗