Distal airways bacterial colonization and inflammatory pattern in children with different chronic lung diseases: a bronchoscopic study

Children with chronic lung diseases are vulnerable to develop bacterial colonization of their distal airways. However, this diagnosis is based usually on nonspecific samples, such as gastric lavage or sputum cultures. The aim of this study was to assess applicability of fibro-optic bronchoscope technique to determine distal airway microbial colonization and inflammation in children with chronic lung diseases compared to conventional methods. Bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage fluid [BALF], sputum and blood samples were collected from 10 healthy children and 30 patients with chronic lung diseases [with different diagnoses]. All samples were subjected to microbiological assessment [direct films, cultures, and antibiogram test], cytology assessment and biochemical assessment of Lactic dehydrogenase enzyme [LDH] and Alkaline phosphatase enzyme [ALP] levels as indicators for ongoing pulmonary damage. Distal airway bacterial colonization by potentially pathogenic microorganisms [PPMs] was defined in 73% of children with the most common organism Staphylococcus aureus followed by E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Citrobacter freundii. BALF analysis was superior to sputum [OR=5.5; 95%CI: 1.6-19.7, P=0.004] and blood samples [OR=38.5; 95%CI: 6.4-302, P=0.0001] analyses as they missed detection of many organisms. Antibiogram analysis revealed that most of gram negative organisms were highly sensitive to imepenem, tobramycin, ceftriaxone, garamycin, and amikin. Most of gram positive organisms were highly sensitive to vancomycin, dalacin and oxacillin. All patients [even if not colonized] visualized ongoing distal airways inflammation and had higher levels of inflammatory markers and cellular loads in comparison to healthy controls. BAL fluid sampling is a safe, technically simple procedure in children and has a significant diagnostic value compared to sputum or blood markers for distal airways bacterial colonization and inflammation

Presentation and management of soft tissue sarcomas

Soft tissue sarcomas [STSs] are uncommon malignancies and may occur at any age, arise at any site and from any of the extraskeletal mesodermal tissues. From September 1st, 1991 to December 31st, 1995, 73 patients with STSs were presented. The age ranged from 2 to 77 years [mean age 37.4 years] with male to female ratio of 0.97:1. The cardinal presenting symptoms were painless mass [57.1%], painful mass [15.1%] and limb disability [7.6%]. Extremity sarcomas represented 50.7% and non-extremity sarcomas 49.3%. The commonest histopathological subtypes were fibrosarcoma [17.8%], rhabdomyosarcoma [16.4%] and malignant vascular tumors [12.3%]. The management of patients included biopsy and radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy [15.1%], marginal resection with postoperative adjuvant therapy [35.6%], wide local resection with or without adjuvant therapy [46.6%] and amputation [2.7%]. Follow up for a period ranged from 6 to 52 months [mean duration of 20.7 months] showed that local recurrence accounted for 35.5%, distant metastases [21.9%], tumor-related death [28.7%], loss at follow up [15.1%] and disease-free survival [56.2%]. The aim of this study is to review the clinicopathological features, management and early results of the cases as compared to that of the literature

Effect of some tranquilizers on cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] in dogs

The changes in CSF constituents in anaesthetized dogs after intravenous injection of a single therapeutic dose of chlorpomazine propipnylpromazine or reserpine were studied over 3 hours, compared with corresponding values of the control and revealed that: 1- Chlorpromazine in a dose of 1.0 mg/kg b.wt. significantly increased glucose level and inorganic phosphates in CSF but decreased urea nitrogen, sodium and chloride concentrations. No changes were observed in creatinine, potassium and calcium levels. 2- Propionylpromazine in a dose of 0.6 mg/kg b.wt. had no effect on all the studied parameters. 3- Reserpine in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg b.wt. significantly increased the glucose level for 3 hours and sodium concentration for one hour but decreased that of potassium during the whole period of the experiment. No changes occrurred in the concentrations of urea nitrogen, creatinine, chloride, calcium and inorganic phosphates