Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2003
Comparative StudyAdverse pregnancy outcome in women exposed to acyclovir during pregnancy: a population-based observational study.
This study aimed to examine the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in children born to mothers who redeemed a prescription for systemic or topical acyclovir during pregnancy. Data on prescriptions of acyclovir were obtained from the Danish North Jutland Prescription Database and data on pregnancy outcomes from the Danish Medical Birth Registry and the County Hospital Discharge Registry. The risk of malformations, low birth weight, preterm birth and stillbirth in users of acyclovir were compared with non-exposed women using a follow-up design, while the risk of spontaneous abortion was examined using a case-control design. 90 pregnant women had redeemed a prescription for systemic acyclovir, and 995 women for topical acyclovir, during 30 d before conception, or during their pregnancies from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2001. ⋯ There is increasing evidence that the use of systemic acyclovir is not associated with an increased prevalence of malformations at birth and preterm delivery. The data for low birth weight and spontaneous abortion are still inconclusive, although the risk of spontaneous abortion is increased in women exposed to acyclovir during the first month of pregnancy. The use of topical acyclovir does not seem to be associated with any adverse pregnancy outcome, although data on stillbirth are inconclusive.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2003
Case ReportsSwyer-James (MacLeod's) syndrome following pertussis infection in an infant.
Pertussis is a potentially severe disease, especially in infancy. The case of an 8-month-old infant is described who presented the typical radiographic image of unilateral hyperlucent lung or Swyer-James (MacLeod's) syndrome. The infant suffered from pertussis at 20 d of age. A rare postinfectious complication of pertussis is reported.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2003
Case ReportsSuccessful medical treatment of Candida albicans in mechanical prosthetic valve endocarditis.
Fungal prosthetic valve endocarditis is particularly serious, and is usually a result of nosocomial candidaemia. This report describes a patient with Candida albicans prosthetic valve endocarditis in whom surgery was believed to be contraindicated. After 45 d of amphotericin B, treatment was continued with fluconazole daily with a follow-up of 16 months, with no recurrent or adverse effects.
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Scand. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2003
Case ReportsHaematogenous brain abscess complicating a case of Austrian syndrome.
Austrian syndrome includes pneumococcal endocarditis, meningitis and rupture of the aortic valve. This study reports a case with a haematogenous brain abscess. Physicians should be aware of the risk factors and dramatic evolution of this rare disease, to avoid delays in diagnosis, and to prevent embolic complications and rupture of the aortic valve.
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Using the cecal ligation/puncture (CLP) model of sepsis in rodents, evidence was obtained for excessive activation of the complement system, which leads to nearly total loss of innate immune protective functions of blood neutrophils. These defects are associated with profound defects in chemotaxis, respiratory burst (H2O2 production) and phagocytosis. The molecular mechanisms of these defects are linked to the complement activation product C5a. ⋯ Such events in thymocytes are prevented if rats first are treated with anti-C5a or with anti-C5aR at the time of CLP. Treatment of CLP rats and mice with anti-C5a, anti-IL-6 or anti-C5aR dramatically improves survival rates after CLP, indicating a linkage between C5a and C5aR in the harmful outcomes of sepsis in rodents. Studies are underway in humans with sepsis to determine whether similar mechanisms are in play.