Treatment of lower respiratory tract infections with ceftazidime.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of ceftazidime in the treatment of patients with lower respiratory tract infection. Fifty patients were included. Most of the patients received 1.

Antibodies against an acid extract from a single campylobacter strain in hospitalized campylobacter patients.

An acid glycine extract from a single Campylobacter jejuni strain was used as the antigen in the enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Elevated values indicating the presence of specific IgM and/or IgG antibodies were found in 73% of 52 patients hospitalized for campylobacter infection. A further 6% of the patients who had lower EIA values in paired serum samples showed at least a 20% change in EIA values.

Serum LD-1 activity in suspected acute myocardial infarction.

We have studied the diagnostic value of measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LD) isoenzyme 1 in serum of 331 cases of suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI). At a discriminatory level of 200 U/L (Scandinavian Committee on Enzymes, recommended method for the determination of LD) LD 1 verified the diagnosis in 96% of the AMI cases and excluded it in 96% of the not-AMI cases when samples were drawn 24-72 h after onset of pain. The correlation between 24-h S-LD-1 and 16-h S-CK B activities was 0.

Campylobacter enteritis in 188 hospitalized patients.

The clinical picture and epidemiologic characteristics of infection due to Campylobacter fetus subspecies jejuni were studied in 188 patients hospitalized in Finland during a three-year period. All but two patients had diarrhea; 90% had abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue; half had vomiting and headache; one third experienced electrolyte disturbances; and one fifth of the patients had other complications, most commonly pancreatitis (6%) and arthritis (5%). All age groups were affected, most usually those who were 0 to 9 years old and 20 to 29 years old.

Fever of unknown origin: a follow-up investigation of 34 patients.

34 patients hospitalized for fever of unknown origin (FUO) were subjected to a follow-up investigation on the average 5 yr after the hospital stay. Two patients had died of a disease related to FUO: one had adenocarcinoma with an unknown primary site and the other a supposed autoimmune disease. In one case the cause of FUO was a periappendicular abscess.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The first cases in Finland.

We report here on the first two patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Finland. The first patient, a 37-year-old man, had Kaposi's sarcoma and the other, a 26-year-old man, had pneumonia due to Pneumocystis carinii. Both patients were homosexuals and showed a marked defect in cell-mediated immunity consistent with the definition of AIDS.

Alveolitis during chrysotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

A patient who developed dry cough and increasing breathlessness during chrysotherapy for seropositive rheumatoid arthritis is presented. Chest radiograms were repeatedly normal, but there was a moderate decrease in pulmonary diffusing capacity. Transbronchial lung biopsy showed alveolitis.

The incidence and aetiology of central nervous system infections in Helsinki in 1980.

The aetiology of central nervous system infections was surveyed in a study at Aurora Hospital, Helsinki, in 1980. Of the 146 patients with central nervous system infections, 113 had aseptic meningitis, 23 bacterial and one tuberculous meningitis, and nine meningoencephalitis or encephalitis. The probable aetiology of aseptic meningitis was established in 67% of the 106 patients properly tested, the commonest agents being mumps (27%), Coxsackie (24%) and ECHO (9%) viruses.

Thyroid associated components in serum during normal pregnancy.

Thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG(, thyroxine-binding pre-albumin (TBPA), thyroxine (T4), free-T4, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were studied throughout apparently normal pregnancy in 290 cases grouped in 2 week intervals. TBG increased to a plateau level reached in the 24th week and was hereafter unchanged until term. T4 showed an increase until the 16th week of pregnancy and levelled off to a constant level for the rest of the pregnancy.

Fibronectin in exudative pleural effusions.

Fibronectin is a glycoprotein found in body fluids, loose connective tissue matrix and in basement membranes. Fibronectin in pleural effusion was found to be immunologically indistinguishable from the plasma form, as shown by double-diffusion analysis. Fibronectin isolated from pleural fluid by affinity chromatography on gelatin-Sepharose had a polypeptide pattern similar to that of plasma fibronectin in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

In vitro production of leucocyte migration inhibitory factor by lymphocytes in exudative pleural effusions.

The indirect leucocyte migration inhibition test was used to investigate production of leucocyte migration inhibitory factor (LIF) by lymphocytes from pleural fluid and peripheral blood. The samples were taken from 19 patients with exudative pleural effusion resulting from malignant disease (n = 9), tuberculosis (n = 5) and nonspecific causes (n = 5). The lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of leucoagglutinin (LA) and purified protein derivative (PPD) and without mitogen or antigen.

Chemical and immunological features of pleural effusions: comparison between rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

The value of determination of pleural fluid glucose, pH, lactic dehydrogenase, IgG, IgA, IgM, C3, C4, anti-IgG antibody, and hydroxyproline in distinguishing between pleural effusions caused by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those resulting from other diseases was studied. The series comprised seven patients with RA and 115 patients with other diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus, tuberculosis, malignant disease, empyema, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and nonspecific pleural effusion. The low glucose concentration, the low pH and the low C4 level in rheumatoid pleural effusion were the most valuable diagnostic findings.

Beta 2 microglobulin in pleural effusions.

Beta 2 microglobulin (beta 2m) concentrations in serum and pleural fluid from 64 patients with pleural effusion were studied. The level of beta 2m in pleural fluid was generally twice that in serum. The ratio of pleural fluid beta 2m to serum beta 2m in patients groups defined according to the final diagnosis showed an interestingly high value in tuberculous pleuritis and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with pleural effusion.

Clinical experience in the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections with ceftazidime.

In this study we report our results on the efficacy of ceftazidime in the treatment of 15 patients with lower respiratory tract infections. Most patients were elderly and had underlying diseases. Eleven patients were cured and one improved.

PHA and PPD reactivity of lymphocytes in pleural effusions.

The functional properties of lymphocytes in pleural fluid were studied in 23 patients admitted to the hospital for the diagnostic evaluation of a unilateral or bilateral pleural effusion. The in vitro reactivities of the patients' pleural fluid lymphocytes and peripheral blood lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and to purified protein derivative (PPD) were compared. In most patients with pleural effusion, the function of pleural fluid lymphocytes was intact and comparable to that of lymphocytes from peripheral blood.

Clinical and serological studies in patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni infection: II. Serological findings.

The serological responses of 53 patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni enteritis were determined with formalinized, boiled and autoclaved antigen suspensions of four reference strains and the autologous isolate. Agglutinin titres of 400 or greater were found against both formalinized and boiled reference antigens in 64% of the patients.

Clinical and serological studies in patients with Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni infection: I. Clinical findings.

Stool samples from 775 patients with diarrhoea referred to a hospital over an 18-month period were cultured for Campylobacter fetus ssp. jejuni, and in 55 patients (7.1%), infections were identified.

Treatment of giardiasis: relative efficacy of metronidazole as compared with tinidazole.

50 patients with giardiasis were treated with either metronidazole or tinidazole in random order according to a code. 25 patients received 2.0 g metronidazole on 2 consecutive days; 19 were cured (76%); 7 patients complained of mild side-effects.

Diagnostic value of total and differential leukocyte counts in pleural effusions.

Total and differential leukocyte counts in pleural fluid were determined prospectively in 140 consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic thoracentesis. The total number of leukocytes was higher in exudates than in transudates. Lymphocytes predominated overwhelmingly (more than 80% of all leukocytes) in 29 of the 31 effusions with verified or probable tuberculous etiology and in 18 of the 24 with malignant etiology, as well as in 20 exudative pleural effusions of other causes.