Pediatric cardiovascular effects of imipramine and desipramine

Electrocardiograms were evaluated in 39 children and adolescents before and after the clinical use of imipramine and desipramine. The average increase in PR interval was 0.01 seconds. The PR interval increased by 0.02 seconds in 11 subjects, and a new first-degree atrioventricular block developed in two subjects. These changes were not related to the choice between imipramine and desipramine, the dose, or the method of administration. An increase in PR interval by 0.02 seconds or more did correlate with having an abnormality disclosed on a pretreatment electrocardiogram. The average increase in PR interval was 0.007 seconds for subjects with normal baseline electrocardiograms and 0.019 seconds for subjects with conduction and nonconduction abnormalities disclosed in baseline tracings. None of the electrocardiogram changes resulted in adverse clinical consequences.     

Linking the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health.

The objective of this study was to explore whether the items from a specific outcome measure, that is, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH), for quantifying limb symptoms and functions in musculoskeletal disorders fit into the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). All DASH items were compared to the ICF according to eight linking rules. Two groups of researchers performed the linking independently, and the results were compared by correlation. The 30 DASH items and four items from the optional modules were linked to 63 ICF categories and 11 chapters: 15 categories belong to the ICF body functions component and 48 to the activities and participation component. There were no items coded under the components body structure or environmental factors. Kappa index showed an agreement of 0.73 (p<0.001). The results showed that the content of the DASH does link well with the ICF framework. Clinicians and researchers must attend to the fact that certain domains and categories from the ICF are not covered by the DASH. Limitations of the instrument may be overcome by simultaneously using other instruments that address the intended content.     

Evaluation of Syva's enzyme immunoassay for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens.

A newly developed microwell enzyme immunosorbent assay (EIA) system by Syva Company (Palo Alto, CA) can detect Chlamydia trachomatis in < 3 hr. It uses a polyclonal antibody to chlamydial lipopolysaccharide and end points are determined with a spectrophotometer. Three clinical trial sites (University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Washington, Seattle, WA; and Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA), compared this EIA with tissue culture (TC) for identifying Chlamydia in urogenital specimens. Overall prevalence by TC was 10.4% (136 of 1306). When tests were compared with TC (using vials or microtiter plates and a fluorescent antibody stain), we found an EIA sensitivity of 93.4% (127 of 136) and a specificity of 98.1% (1148 of 1170). This EIA has a performance profile that is, at the very least, comparable with other nonculture methods for diagnosing genital tract infections with C. trachomatis.     

Susceptibility of Treponema pallidum and other selected spirochaetes to zidovudine.

The antiviral nucleoside derivative zidovudine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine) previously has been shown to be an effective antibacterial agent in animals infected with Escherichia coli or Salmonella typhimurium. Since HIV infection can alter the course of human syphilis with serious consequences, it was of interest to determine if the noncultivable spirochaetal agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum, is susceptible to this compound. The progression of experimental rabbit syphilis over a three week period was unchanged in animals receiving either 50 or 150 mg/kg oral zidovudine daily. In addition, a number of cultivable pathogenic and nonpathogenic spirochaetes were tested for susceptibility to zidovudine in vitro. At a concentration of 100 mg/L, zidovudine had no detectable effect on spirochaete growth, morphology, or motility. Thus it appears that spirochaetes are generally not susceptible to this compound, and that long-term zidovudine therapy will not be of benefit in preventing or controlling syphilis or other spirochaetoses in HIV-infected humans receiving this drug.     

HBs-Ag-negative hepatitis in a hemodialysis unit: relation to Epstein-Barr virus.

Eleven of 40 patients in a hemodialysis unit had clinical or biochemical evidence of hepatitis during a five-week period. The clinical disease was mild, being limited solely to dialysis patients. Epidemiologic investigation indicated that the incubation period was between 17 and 35 days and that 10 of 11 patients had been exposed to a single venous-pressure monitor before onset. Dried blood and evidence of blood reflux up the venous-pressure gauge suggested that cross-contamination of the blood of successive patients probably resulted in transmission of disease. No association with the hepatitis B surface antigen or anti-hepatitis B antibody was demonstrated, but 10 of the 11 patients with elevated transaminase levels had evidence of recent exposure, to Epstein-Barr virus as manifested either by Ox-cell hemolysin titers or rises in titers to viral capsid antigen.