ABSTRACT
Much has been written about female menopause, but hormonal decline in men indicative of a similar menopause is a relatively new concept. Hormonal decline in men is a gradual and often occult process. Many men do not experience noticeable symptoms, but those who do usually experience a decline in sexual desire and ability that may be attributed to aging. Some men may hide these symptoms. Hormonal replacements and herbal therapies may be helpful. Nurses must conduct careful histories and physical examinations to elicit disclosure of symptoms of hormonal decline in this population.
Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Testosterone/deficiency , Aged , Dehydroepiandrosterone/therapeutic use , Hormone Replacement Therapy , Humans , Hypogonadism/drug therapy , Hypogonadism/etiology , Hypogonadism/nursing , Male , Phytotherapy , Plant Preparations/therapeutic use , Testosterone/therapeutic useABSTRACT
In the summer of 1978, two children who had recently been swimming in freshwater lakes in Florida died from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Despite early and intensive treatment with amphotericin B, both patients died three to five days after the onset of illness. Amoebae were observed in wet preparations of cerebrospinal fluid and in sections of cerebral tissue and were identified as Naegleria fowleri by the indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique. The amoebae were highly virulent in mice. The isolate of N. fowleri was extremely sensitive in vitro to amphotericin B (minimal inhibitory concentration [MIC], 0.15 microgram/ml), somewhat sensitive to miconazole (MIC, 25 micrograms/ml), and resistant to rifampin (MIC, less than or equal to 100 micrograms/ml). Treatment with amphotericin B (7.5 mg/kg of body weight per day) administered intraperitoneally protected 60% of the mice. Lower doses of amphotericin B alone or in combination with miconazole (100 mg/kg) or rifampin (220 mg/kg) were not protective. These results suggest that amphotericin B remains the single effective agent in treatment of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.
Subject(s)
Amebiasis/drug therapy , Amphotericin B/therapeutic use , Meningoencephalitis/etiology , Adolescent , Amebiasis/diagnosis , Animals , Child , Humans , Male , Meningoencephalitis/diagnosis , Meningoencephalitis/drug therapy , Mice , Miconazole/therapeutic use , Rifampin/therapeutic use , Serologic Tests , SwimmingABSTRACT
Nosocomial infections in an intensive care nursery (ICN) due to kanamycin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae during a four-month period with an infection rate of 12% and mortality of 47% are reported. Emergence of this organism was thought to be due to the widespread use of kanamycin. Transmission probably occurred via hands of personnel contaminated during care of colonized or infected infants. Control measures advocated are better handwashing technic and discriminate use of antibiotics. This report emphasizes the need for awareness of this continuous threat and for infection surveillance in an ICN.
