Alfred S. Lea

Latex agglutination test for detection of Candida antigen in patients with disseminated disease

A latex agglutination test has been devised which allows detection of a circulating antigen in patients with systemic infection due toCandida albicans, Candida tropicalis andCandida parapsilosis. Latex is sensitized with serum from rabbits immunized with whole heat killedCandida albicans blastoconidia. The active component of this serum is IgG. Control latex, used to differentiate non-specific agglutination, is sensitized with the same dilution of serum from a rabbit without antibody toCandida species. Sera from a number of patient groups were tested. While none of the hundred normal controls had an antigen titer of ⩾ 1∶4, 30 of 33 patients with documented disseminated candida infection had antigen titers of 1∶4 to 1∶32. Two of the 33 gave false negative results, and one caused nonspecific agglutination. In all patients who recovered after antifungal therapy antigen levels returned to within the range found in normal controls.

Perioperative Antibiotic Therapy for Penetrating Injuries of the Abdomen

From 1979 through 1981, 152 patients with penetrating injuries of the intra-abdominal gastrointestinal tract were placed on one of three different perioperative antibiotic regimens in a prospective randomized fashion. The three regimens were A) cefamandole 2 grams every 4 hours, B) cefoxitin 2 grams every 6 hours, and C) ticarcillin 3 grams every 4 hours and tobramycin 1.5 mg/kg every 8 hours. Antibiotics were administered intravenously before and for 48 hours following surgical exploration and repair. The three treatment groups were similar with respect to age, average number of organ injuries, and distribution of organ injuries. Cefoxitin-treated patients experienced uneventful recoveries more often than cefamandole-treated patients (94% vs. 80.3%, p less than 0.05) when the incidence of gram-negative wound infection and intra-abdominal abscess formation was considered, while the number of patients who experienced uneventful recoveries in the ticarcillin-tobramycin group was not statistically different from the other two groups of patients. Bacteroides fragilis was isolated from three of the six abscesses occurring in the cefamandole-treated group, while no anaerobes were isolated from abscesses in patients treated with either of the other two regimens. The results of this study suggest that the most effective perioperative antibiotic regimen for patients with penetrating gastrointestinal wounds should possess activity against both aerobic and anaerobic flora of the bowel.

In situ hybridization for the detection of hepatitis C virus RNA in human liver tissue.

In situ hybridization (ISH) enables visualization of specific nucleic acid in morphologically preserved cells and tissue sections. Detection of the HCV genomes in clinical specimens is useful for differential diagnosis, particularly between recurrent HCV infection and acute cellular rejection in transplant specimens. We optimized an ISH protocol that demonstrated sensitivity and specificity for detecting genomic and replicative form of HCV RNA in tissue biopsies. Digoxigenin (Dig)‐labelled sense and anti‐sense riboprobes were synthesized using a plasmid containing a fragment of the highly conserved HCV noncoding region as a template. The efficiency of the Dig‐labelled riboprobes in detecting genomic and replicative‐intermediate HCV RNA was analysed in 30 liver biopsies from patients infected or uninfected with HCV in a blinded study. A Huh7 cell line that stably replicates genome‐length HCV RNA was developed to be used as a positive control. Negative control riboprobes were used in parallel to evaluate and control for background staining. The anti‐sense probe detected HCV RNA in 20/21 specimens from HCV‐infected liver tissues obtained from patients and in 0/9 samples from patients with non‐HCV‐related liver diseases, resulting in a sensitivity and specificity of 95% and 100%, respectively. HCV genomic RNA was variably distributed in tissue sections and was located primarily in the perinuclear regions in hepatocytes. Detection of HCV RNA by our optimized ISH protocol appears to be a sensitive and specific method when processing clinical specimens. It may also be revealing when exploring the pathophysiology of HCV infection by verifying the presence of viral genetic material within heptocytes and other cellular elements of diseased liver tissue. This methodology might also evaluate the response to antiviral therapies by demonstrating the absence or alteration of genetic material in clinical specimens from successfully treated patients.

Concomitant pulmonary infection with Nocardia transvalensis and Aspergillus ustus in lung transplantation

Lung infections with Nocardia and Aspergillus spp in lung transplant recipients (LTRs) create diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The present case illustrates the difficulties in identifying these pathogens in LTRs. A high degree of clinical suspicion and aggressive early management are required to ensure good outcomes. Although prospective data on treating these conditions are scarce, the empiric use of combination broad-spectrum anti-microbials initially seems prudent.

An Unusual Cutaneous Manifestation in a Patient with Murine Typhus.

Murine typhus is a flea-borne febrile illness caused by Rickettsia typhi. Although often accompanied by rash, an inoculation lesion has not been observed as it is with many tick- and mite-transmitted rickettsioses. We describe a patient with murine typhus and an unusual cutaneous manifestation at the site of rickettsial inoculation.

Randomized comparative study of moxalactam and cefazolin in the treatment of acute urinary tract infections in adults.

Eighty-nine patients with clinical and laboratory evidence of acute urinary tract infection were randomized to therapy with either moxalactam (500 mg) or cefazolin (1 g) every 12 h. Escherichia coli was the predominant pathogen in both groups (92.6 versus 90.2%). Therapy was continued for 3 days after the patient defervesced. The minimum hospital stay was 5 days. Sequential urine cultures were obtained on day 3, at discharge, and 5 to 10 days after the cessation of therapy. THe average duration of hospital stay was 5.6 days for both groups of patients. THe incidence of recurrent infection was similar in uncomplicated patients (9.1 versus 10%) and in complicated patients with a condition predisposing them to urinary tract infections (43 versus 42%). Moxalactam-treated patients had a higher incidence of reversible hepatic enzyme elevation (36%) and Streptococcus faecalis superinfections (12.2%). Moxalactam is as effective as cefazolin for the elimination of gram-negative pathogens from the urine of patients with acute urinary tract infections, but it is associated with a higher incidence of reversible side effects.

Post-transplant native pneumonectomy for interstitial fibrosis and small cell lung cancer

Lung transplantation is a definitive treatment for select patients with end-stage pulmonary disease. Following transplantation, the reported rate of lung cancer is between 1-9% and is associated with a variety of risk factors, including smoking history and chronic immunosuppression. The majority of post-transplant lung cancer reported in the literature is histologically classified as non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). We report a unique case of early stage small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) identified in the native lung following single lung transplantation.