Clinical Impact of Community-Acquired Respiratory Viruses on Bronchiolitis Obliterans After Lung Transplant

Community-acquired viral respiratory tract infections (RTI) in lung transplant recipients may have a high rate of progression to pneumonia and can be a trigger for immunologically mediated detrimental effects on lung function. A cohort of 100 patients was enrolled from 2001 to 2003 in which 50 patients had clinically diagnosed viral RTI and 50 were asymptomatic. All patients had nasopharyngeal and throat swabs taken for respiratory virus antigen detection, culture and RT-PCR. All patients had pulmonary function tests at regular intervals for 12 months. Rates of rejection, decline in forced expiratory volume (L) in 1 s (FEV-1) and bacterial and fungal superinfection were compared at the 3-month primary endpoint. In the 50 patients with RTI, a microbial etiology was identified in 33 of 50 (66%) and included rhinovirus (9), coronavirus (8), RSV (6), influenza A (5), parainfluenza (4) and human metapneumovirus (1). During the 3-month primary endpoint, 8 of 50 (16%) RTI patients had acute rejection versus 0 of 50 non-RTI patients (p=0.006). The number of patients experiencing a 20% or more decline in FEV-1 by 3 months was 9 of 50 (18%) RTI versus 0 of 50 non-RTI (0%) (p=0.003). In six of these nine patients, the decline in FEV-1 was sustained over a 1-year period consistent with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). Community-acquired respiratory viruses may be associated with the development of acute rejection and BOS.     

Laparoscopic-assisted percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric gastric access for long-term enteral feeding may be performed via a laparotomy, laparoscopy, or a percutaneous approach. In children and adolescents, laparoscopic-assisted gastrostomy may be difficult due to a thick abdominal wall. Therefore, if the abdominal wall is estimated to be >2 cm on physical examination, or in children in whom a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was unsuccessfully attempted by a gastroenterologist, we routinely perform a laparoscopic-assisted percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. METHODS: From January 1998 through February 2003, we retrospectively reviewed 15 cases of a laparoscopic-assisted percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Instruments used to perform this technique are a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy kit, an Olympus flexible endoscope, and one 5-mm STEP port placed through an infraumbilical incision for a 5-mm, 30-degree scope. RESULTS: Age range was 2 years to 20 years (mean, 10). Operative time ranged from 20 minutes to 45 minutes. When a concurrent laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication was performed (n = 6), the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was placed after completion of the Nissen fundoplication. No intraoperative complications occurred, and all tubes were successfully placed. Feeds were instituted the following day and advanced to goal. To date, no postoperative complications have occurred, and revision has not been necessary. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic-assisted percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children and adolescents is safe and effective. Utilizing laparoscopy permits evaluation of the peritoneum and lysis of adhesions, if necessary. Moreover, laparoscopy provides excellent exposure for accurate placement of the PEG, while avoiding injury to other organs.     

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Basal Cell Carcinomas

BACKGROUND: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer. One of the main problems with BCC is the risk of local recurrence of the tumor after treatment. This is mainly due to its irregular outgrowths, which cannot be detected clinically. OBJECTIVE: To better understand the tumor morphology and growth pattern of BCC, we tried to develop a method that provides a precise three-dimensional model of the tumor. METHODS: Because Mohs surgery provides the best overview of the tumor and the tumor margins (both lateral and in depth), the reconstruction was based on slides from Mohs surgery. After digitization and processing of the slides, the tumor was then surrounded by a Mohs surgeon on a computer screen. These selections (lines) were used for a three-dimensional reconstruction of the tumor using MedSurf3D software. RESULTS: This method allows three-dimensional reconstruction of any given BCC. The MedSurf3D software enables visualization of a three-dimensional model of the tissue, which is removed during the surgical procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional reconstruction is a fascinating tool that might improve our understanding of the behavior, growth pattern, and tumor morphology of BCCs. This technique might also be useful in other fields of cutaneous oncology, such as the calculation of the tumor volume of melanomas.     

Propriospinal myoclonus: utility of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tracking.

Propriospinal myoclonus (PSM) is a rare movement disorder characterized by involuntary spinal-generated muscular jerks that spread rostrally and caudally to other spinally innervated muscles. Most patients have no clear etiology, and conventional MRI of the spinal cord is generally normal. Here we report the use of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fiber tracking to detect tract-specific abnormalities in a patient with propriospinal myoclonus. As the patient had the fragile-X premutation and antithyroid antibodies, spinal cord DTI abnormalities may be related to these conditions. Tract-specific analysis may provide new insights into the pathophysiology of propriospinal myoclonus.     

Estimation methods for Maximum Residue Limits for pesticides

Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) are standards that represent the maximum residue concentration expected to be found if a pesticide is applied according to good agricultural practice (GAP). MRLs are established only where the residues in food resulting from particular use patterns of the pesticide pass the public health risk assessment. Foodstuffs are monitored for MRL compliance and MRL exceedance can have economic and trade consequences. There is a trade-off when deciding on values for MRLs. The aim is to establish MRLs at levels that are high enough to prevent chance exceedance but not so high that misuse will not be detected. Small data sets typically available for estimating MRLs present problems for establishing consistent values. A review of MRL estimation methods is presented together with an assessment of the various methods.     

Intraocular penetration of fosfomycin in man and rabbits

The intraocular distribution of fosfomycin was studied in 32 patients undergoing cataract surgery and or vitrectomy and in 8 rabbits after experimental infection of one eye by Staphylococcus aureus. In subjects perfused with 4 g of fosfomycin, concentrations ranged from 14 to 18.8 mg/l in aqueous humour (AH) and from 8 to 12.5 mg/l in vitreous fluid (VF) between 1 and 6 hours after the end of the perfusion; these levels were higher than MICs for 80-90 per cent of bacteria found in endophthalmitis. In rabbits the concentration in infected eyes with respect to healthy eyes was found to be from 2.5 to 5 times in AH and from 4.9 to 19.2 times higher in VF. Therefore fosfomycin in association with third generation cephalosporins (ceftriaxone) or with new quinolones can be recommended in the prevention and early treatment of endophthalmitis.     

Diffusion of piperacillin in the eye]

Intraocular diffusion of piperacillin was studied in 42 patients scheduled for cataract surgery (n = 35) or vitrectomy (n = 7). Piperacillin was administered intravenously (4 g/injection). Thirty-four patients were given a single dose and 8 were given two doses 12 hours apart. Peak piperacillin levels in the aqueous (7.3 mg/l) occurred one hour after the injection; levels in the vitreous were low (less than 0.6 mg/l). Intraocular diffusion of piperacillin was also studied in rabbits with an experimental Staphylococcus epidermidis infection of one eye; the other eye served as the control. In pigmented rabbits (6 Fauve de Bourgogne animals), increased diffusion and decreased elimination of piperacillin were seen in the aqueous, iris and cornea of the infected eyes, as compared with uninfected control eyes. In albino rabbits (6 New Zealand animals), results were less conclusive, with a difference between the infected and healthy eyes appearing only during the second hour following the injection. The good diffusion of piperacillin in the aqueous, especially in infected eyes (at least in rabbits), suggests that this drug may be useful for the treatment of ocular infections provided it is initiated early and given in combination with another antimicrobial exhibiting good intraocular diffusion.