1/65. Acute and reversible parkinsonism due to organophosphate pesticide intoxication: five cases.OBJECTIVE: To describe five patients who developed acute and reversible parkinsonism following organophosphate (OP) pesticide exposure, and to consider whether this syndrome represents a rare sequela of such exposure in genetically susceptible individuals. BACKGROUND: Several toxins are known to produce parkinsonism following acute exposure. Although case-control studies have implicated OP pesticides in the etiology of PD, acute parkinsonism following brief pesticide exposure has never been reported. methods: The authors describe the clinical syndrome affecting five patients who presented with recent OP exposure and symptoms of an acute akinetic-rigid syndrome. RESULTS: All patients developed parkinsonism that resembled PD clinically except for poor response to levodopa. Three genetically related patients were exposed to pesticides in a common environment before onset of parkinsonism; other family members remained unaffected. Other secondary causes of parkinsonism were excluded. Four patients recovered completely without treatment, and one patient was lost to follow-up. One patient experienced repeated episodes of parkinsonism with inadvertent reexposure to a pesticide-contaminated environment. CONCLUSION: The clinical course of these five patients suggests their syndrome represents a heretofore undescribed toxic effect of OP pesticides. Our observations strengthen epidemiologic studies implicating OP pesticides in the etiology of PD. A genetic susceptibility to OP pesticide-induced parkinsonism may account for three family members developing this syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/65. Lineage switch in childhood leukemia with monosomy 7 and reverse of lineage switch in severe combined immunodeficient mice.Morphophenotypic lineage switches occur in a small percentage of those with acute leukemia, and the underlying mechanisms are not clear. In this study, we attempted to induce a lineage switch in acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) with monosomy 7, whose lineage had switched from acute T-lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL) during chemotherapy, in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Although the transplanted myeloid cells were engrafted in SCID mice without cytokine administration, T-ALL developed in SCID mice treated with recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor or recombinant human interleukin 3. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the rearranged T-cell receptor gamma-chain (TCR-gamma) gene revealed that this lineage switch resulted from the selection of the T-lineage subclone in SCID mice, which had expanded at onset. In addition, we found that the T-lineage and myeloid cells belonged to the distinct subclones, which were different in TCR-gamma gene rearrangements, but were derived from a common clone with an identical N-ras gene mutation for both subclones. In in vitro cultures, only the myeloid subclone grew; the T-lineage subclone failed to grow even in the presence of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor or recombinant human interleukin 3. These results suggested that the initial diagnostic T-lymphoid subclone, whose growth was dependent on these cytokines and the hematopoietic microenvironment, emerged from a bipotential T-lymphoid/myeloid leukemic stem cell, and further genetic event(s) induced the myeloid subclone, which grew independently of these cytokines and the microenvironment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/65. Acute confusion and unreal experiences in intensive care patients in relation to the ICU syndrome. Part II.The intensive care unit syndrome (ICU syndrome) is defined as an altered emotional state occurring in a highly stressful environment, which may manifest itself in various forms such as delirium, confusion, crazy dreams or unreal experiences. The purpose of this part of a study of patients' experiences is to describe and illuminate patients' experiences of acute confusion, disorientation, wakefulness, dreams and nightmares during and after their stay in the ICU. The data were obtained from 19 ventilated patients, who were interviewed twice and had stayed at least 36 hours in the ICU, the first interview being about one week after discharge from the ICU, and the second 4-8 weeks later. The hermeneutic approach used when interpreting and analysing the text from the interviews revealed that patients' experiences of unreal experiences were often associated with intense fear. Intense or continuous unbearable fear seems to result in frightening unreal experiences, which further increase the level of fear. Care actions or caring relationships with relatives or nurses can reduce this fear, which can help to prevent the occurrence and/or duration and intensity of the unreal experiences. trust and confidence in nurses or significant others and feelings of self-control or trust in self-control seemed to reduce the risk of unreal experiences so that adverse stimuli might only trigger a mild confusion.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/65. Telemedical experiences at an Antarctic station.Wintering-over in Antarctica represents a physician's most remote and inaccessible scenario, apart from a space station. Because of the harsh and unpredictable winter weather, Antarctic stations are typically inaccessible for over six months of the year. telephone and fax communication, and recently other forms of telemedicine, have provided vital links to specialists. The author was the sole physician for more than 250 people wintering-over during the 1995 austral winter at McMurdo Station. There were several instances of serious or life-threatening illness where the author relied on teleconsultation. These cases included new-onset coronary artery disease, posterior hip dislocation, complicated colles' fracture and acute appendicitis. There were also numerous consultations for non-emergency clinical presentations normally managed by specialists. telemedicine was a crucial link to specialists from the remote and inaccessible environment of Antarctica.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/65. Managing acutely disturbed behaviour.Managing acutely disturbed behaviour is difficult, particularly in environments which are not designed for dealing with such conduct. An understanding of factors which can lead to this behaviour and clear management policies and procedures are needed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/65. Native valve infective endocarditis: what is the optimal timing for surgery?IE remains a dreaded disease masquerading under a myriad of presentations in an evolving epidemiological environment. In our continuing endeavor against this deadly disease, echocardiography has evolved into an indispensable diagnostic tool to define structural complications and guide therapy. Timing of surgical intervention for IE remains a subject of intense debate and depends on the cardiac and systemic complications of the infection, the virulence of the organism, and the responsiveness to medical therapy. A judicious agreement among cardiologist, cardiovascular surgeon, and infectious disease specialist should define whether surgical intervention is warranted and, if so, the optimal timing. Further optimization of guidelines will help in the diagnosis and treatment of endocarditis but will never be a substitute for sound judgment and experience.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/65. Mass psychogenic illness: role of the individual physician.Mass psychogenic illness is characterized by symptoms, occurring among a group of persons with shared beliefs regarding those symptoms, that suggest organic illness but have no identifiable environmental cause and little clinical or laboratory evidence of disease. Mass psychogenic illness typically affects adolescents or children, groups under stress and females disproportionately more than males. Symptoms often follow an environmental trigger or illness in an index case. They can spread rapidly by apparent visual transmission, may be aggravated by a prominent emergency or media response, and frequently resolve after patients are separated from each other and removed from the environment in which the outbreak began. physicians should consider this diagnosis when faced with a cluster of unexplained acute illness.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/65. leptospirosis mimicking acute cholecystitis among athletes participating in a triathlon.leptospirosis, a disease acquired by exposure to contaminated water, is characterized by fever accompanied by various symptoms, including abdominal pain. An acute febrile illness occurred in athletes who participated in an illinois triathlon in which the swimming event took place in a freshwater lake. Of 876 athletes, 120 sought medical care and 22 were hospitalized. Two of the athletes had their gallbladders removed because of abdominal pain and clinical suspicion of acute cholecystitis. We applied an immunohistochemical test for leptospirosis to these gallbladders and demonstrated bacterial antigens staining (granular and filamentous patterns) around blood vessels of the serosa and muscle layer. Rare intact bacteria were seen in 1 case. These results show that leptospirosis can mimic the clinical symptoms of acute cholecystitis. If a cholecystectomy is performed in febrile patients with suspicious environmental or animal exposure, pathologic studies for leptospirosis on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues may be of great value.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/65. Gatifloxacin-associated acute hepatitis.Gatifloxacin, a fluoroquinolone with extended gram-positive activity, has become extensively used in both the community and hospital environments. Unfortunately, concerns have been raised about the use of certain fluoroquinolones because of adverse drug reactions. A 44-year-old woman developed acute hepatitis while receiving gatifloxacin for chronic sinusitis. After 5 days of receiving antibiotics, the patient developed nausea, lethargy, and abdominal pain, all of which progressed over the next few days. liver function tests were elevated, with bilirubin peaking at 9.4 mg/dl. The patient also became jaundiced. A percutaneous liver biopsy showed acute hepatitis with eosinophilic infiltrates consistent with drug-induced hepatitis. All other drugs and disease processes were ruled out as likely causes of the patient's hepatitis. Clinicians should be alerted to the possibility that hepatitis may occur with gatifloxacin administration.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/65. New-onset neurologic deficits after general anesthesia for MRI.Two patients with spine disease were unable to tolerate supine placement for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) because of severe back pain. General anesthesia was administered to enable the patients to undergo MRI. Both patients awakened from anesthesia with new-onset paraplegia and underwent emergency decompressive laminectomy. Acute paraplegia after anesthesia occurs infrequently and is most commonly associated with mechanical injury, vascular compromise, or anesthetic technique. The physical limitations of the MRI environment make it difficult to position some patients in a manner that accommodates their pathophysiology and may place certain patients at risk of neurologic compromise. For this subset of patients, the necessity of MRI with general anesthesia should be reassessed and alternative imaging methods considered.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = environment (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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