[Acute renal insufficiency in renal transplants treated with interferon-alpha for chronic hepatitis C].

Sixteen renal transplant (RT) patients (10 men, 6 women, aged 49 +/- 10 years) with chronic hepatitis C received alpha interferon (IFN alpha) therapy (Intron A, Schering Plough) at a dose of 3 x 10(6) units s.c. 3 times a week, scheduled for 24 consecutive weeks.

Quality perceptions of microbiology services. A survey of infectious diseases specialists.

Opinions about the quality of their primary microbiology laboratory were received from more than 500 practicing infectious diseases specialists by a nationally distributed questionnaire. Approximately 92% of the respondents' primary laboratories were hospital-based. These sophisticated users rated the quality of their microbiology laboratories to be generally high, with bacteriology receiving highest scores and parasitology the lowest scores.

[Relationship between spermatogenic maturation stages and male hormone levels].

The relationship between stages of the spermatogenic maturation process and male hormone levels was evaluated in 41 azoospermic, infertile men. Patients were categorized into groups according to the most mature spermatogenic cell type present in testicular aspirates: spermatocytes, spermatids or spermatozoa. High FSH and LH plasma levels were found in those with spermatocytes.

Activation of thick targets by energetic heavy ions and the resultant radiation levels.

This study completes data collected for thick targets exposed to carbon and oxygen ions accelerated at 86 MeV/u. The radioactivity induced in carbon and tungsten targets bombarded by argon projectiles at 95 MeV/u has been studied in order to assess the relative contributions of the incoming heavy ion and the mass number of the bombarded nuclei to the consequent radiation hazards related to the production of radioactive ion beams. Induced radioactivity measurements are only rarely made under controlled irradiation conditions, in order to derive from the measured activities the dose rates after beam bombardment and a prediction of radiation protection constraints.

Localized manifestations of subacute thyroiditis presenting as solitary transient cold thyroid nodules. A report of 11 patients.

Eleven patients, each with a painful solitary cold nodule of the thyroid were evaluated. All patients had subacute thyroiditis associated with neck pain and tenderness. Despite elevated sedimentation rate and increased thyroglobulin levels, nine of the patients were euthyroid, and I-131 uptake was normal in six.

The use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of atypical pathology in the unossified skeleton.

Three cases are presented: a congenital dislocation of the patella, a congenital dislocation of the radial head, and an epiphysiolysis of the distal humerus. In all three cases the pathology involved unossified parts of the skeleton poorly demonstrated by plain radiographs. Ultrasonography proved useful in diagnosis and treatment of these cases.

The relationship between plasma levels of gonadotropins, androgens, and prolactin in azoospermic men with their testicular spermatogenic pattern.

Objective: To assess the relationship between plasma levels of gonadotropins, androgens, and PRL with testicular spermatogenic pattern.

Design: Patient series.

Setting: University affiliated medical center.

Distribution of epidermal growth factor receptor gene amplification in brain tumours and correlation to prognosis.

In 75 gliomas and 31 meningiomas, mutations at the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene locus were restricted to gliomas. The ligands of this receptor, epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor alpha, lacked quantitative changes at their loci in gliomas and meningiomas. EGFR gene amplification occurred in astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas and glioblastomas.

Impact of CLIA 88 on the clinical microbiology laboratory.

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA 88) to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1967 continues to undergo transformation since its implementation more than 2 years ago. The law and its subsequent regulatory modifications were intended to promote high quality in and accurate results from laboratory testing procedures, regardless of the site at which testing occurred. A number of federal regulatory agencies and committees such as the Healthcare Financing Administration, the Clinical Improved Amendments Committee, and the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation, as well as numerous new or modified regulations and requirements have gained importance since CLIA 88 was enacted.

Quality management and the clinical microbiology laboratory.

Quality management in today's health care environment requires a fresh approach. Laboratories that have traditionally directed their efforts toward meeting the needs of physicians must now also satisfy the needs of society, the greater public health, and the agency's administrators. Technical advances must today be considered in the context of patient care cost-effectiveness or final outcomes.

Genetic aspects of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and methods used for its detection in clinical laboratories in the United States.

The mecA gene in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) directs production of a novel penicillin-binding protein (PBP 2A), an enzyme active in cell wall synthesis. MecA, alone, however, does not determine the degree of resistance expressed by strains of MRSA. Differential resistance or variations in other genes that participate in cell wall synthesis, such as laboratory mutant fem genes, may account, in part, for the heterogeneity of methicillin resistance expression in MRSA.

Survival of anaerobes in original specimens transported by overnight mail services.

Overnight mail delivery was evaluated for its effect on the recovery of facultative and anaerobic microbes in cultures of clinical specimens from patients. Ten clinical specimens, which were collected at different geographic locations and during different weather conditions, were cultured at the site and after overnight delivery to a distant laboratory. Forty-five facultative anaerobic isolates and 48 anaerobes were recovered.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with recombinant interferon alpha in kidney transplant recipients.

Chronic hepatitis C is a common cause of viral liver disease in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. To assess the efficacy and safety of therapy with interferon alpha we conducted a prospective study where 14 cadaveric KT recipients with chronic hepatitis C received recombinant interferon alpha-2b (IFNa) 3 million units three times weekly (scheduled) for 6 months (group A). 14 KT recipients with chronic hepatitis C were not treated and served as controls for the study period (group B).

"Streptococcus milleri" strains displaying a gliding type of motility.

Isolates belonging to the "Streptococcus milleri" species group that appear to exhibit a gliding type of motility, which is expressed as spreading growth on certain types of agar media, are described. These strains resembled a biotype of "S. milleri" that is usually isolated from genitourinary sources and is notable for its ability to ferment a wide array of carbohydrates.

National survey of the in vitro spectrum of piperacillin-tazobactam tested against more than 40,000 aerobic clinical isolates from 236 medical centers.

Hospital microbiology laboratories from 41 states participated in a bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility study comparing in vitro results generated by the standardized disk diffusion method. Over 41,000 freshly isolated aerobic and facultative strains, representing all specimen types (except stools and urines), were tested for their susceptibility to piperacillin-tazobactam and 21 other antimicrobial agents. Enterococcus spp.

Preliminary results of treatment of chronic hepatitis C with recombinant interferon alpha in renal transplant patients.

Chronic hepatitis C is a common cause of viral liver disease in kidney transplant recipients. To assess the efficacy and the safety of therapy with interferon alpha (IFN alpha) in such a population we conducted a prospective study where 16 kidney transplant recipients with chronic hepatitis C received recombinant IFN alpha 3 million units three times weekly scheduled for 24 consecutive weeks. All the patients had stable renal function for at least 1 year (mean serum creatinine 125.

Bone turnover in cortical and trabecular bone in normal women and in women with osteoporosis.

Unlabelled: This study is based on the assumption that is bone turnover, shown by the uptake of 99mTc-MDP, indicates a high rate of bone loss in patients with osteoporosis, it could potentially predict bone loss in patients at risk before significant bone loss has occurred.

Methods: Quantitative bone SPECT (QBS) using 99mTc-MDP, expressed as the %ID/cc x 10(-3), was performed in 71 women who had osteoporosis in the lumbar vertebrae, the femoral neck or both, and in 54 age-matched normal female controls. Of the women with osteoporosis, 42 had postmenopausal osteoporosis and 29 had primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and osteoporosis.