Francisella tularensis infection

2020 ◽  
pp. 1091-1094
Author(s):  
Petra C.F. Oyston

Fransicella tularensis is a small Gram-negative coccobacillus that circulates in small rodents, rabbits, and hares, most frequently in Scandinavia, northern North America, Japan, and Russia. Clinical presentation depends on the route of infection. Most commonly this follows the bite of an infected arthropod vector, resulting in ulceroglandular tularaemia. The most acute and life-threatening disease, respiratory or pneumonic tularaemia, arises following inhalation of infectious aerosols or dusts. The organism is highly fastidious, requiring rich media for isolation and specialized reagents for positive identification; most cases are diagnosed serologically. Treatment is with supportive care and antibiotics (usually ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, or gentamicin). There is no vaccine.

Author(s):  
Alida Gertz

Tularemia, caused by the gram-negative coccobacillus Francisella tularensis, is an extremely infectious bacterial zoonosis. Symptoms depend on site of exposure; they can be nonspecific and may include fever, lymphadenopathy, ulcer or papule, and nausea/vomiting. Natural transmission occurs via small mammals, such as rabbits, or arthropod bites. IV or IM antibiotics are preferred over oral forms. Supportive care is also critical; some patients may require respiratory support. If used as a biological weapon, aerosolized F. tularensis would be the most likely route of transmission. Clinical symptoms would include those of pneumonic tularemia. In the event of a bioterrorist attack, oral administration antibiotics can be used, as the health care system may not be able to accommodate intravenous or intramuscular treatment. Antibiotic resistance should also be considered if patients deteriorate despite use of recommended antibiotics.


Author(s):  
Nageswaramma Sidhabathuni ◽  
Sahitya Tadi ◽  
Rakesh Darla ◽  
Premsagar Gomukonda

<p class="abstract">Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a life-threatening dermatological emergencies. It is a rare, acute mucocutaneous disorder that usually occur secondarily as an idiosyncratic reaction to certain drugs. Prompt identification and discontinuation of the causative drug is mandatory along with adequate supportive care like proper hydration, minimize the number of skin manipulation, prevention of secondary infections. Many immunosuppressive modalities have been tried with variable results. In this manuscript, we reported 12 consecutive cases of TEN presented to our hospital over a period of 2 years from 2017 to 2019. All the cases presented with varying percentage of skin blistering and mucosal involvement secondary to an offending drug. The incriminated drug was discontinued, supportive care was initiated along with combination therapy of cyclosporine and corticosteroids as immunosuppressants. The clinical presentation, etiological drugs and treatment protocol followed and its efficacy will be described in details.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Venkata Vijaya K. Dalai ◽  
Jason E. Childress ◽  
Paul E Schulz

Dementia is a major public health concern that afflicts an estimated 24.3 million people worldwide. Great strides are being made in order to better diagnose, prevent, and treat these disorders. Dementia is associated with multiple complications, some of which can be life-threatening, such as dysphagia. There is great variability between dementias in terms of when dysphagia and other swallowing disorders occur. In order to prepare the reader for the other articles in this publication discussing swallowing issues in depth, the authors of this article will provide a brief overview of the prevalence, risk factors, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, current treatment options, and implications for eating for the common forms of neurodegenerative dementias.


Author(s):  
Gabriel Guízar Sahagún

Besides the well-known loss of motor and sensory capabilities, people with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience a broad range of systemic and metabolic abnormalities including, among others, dysfunction of cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary, and endocrine systems. These alterations are a significant challenge for patients with SCI because such disorders severely interfere with their daily living and can be potentially life-threatening. Most of these disorders are associated with impairment of regulation of the autonomic nervous system, arising from disruption of connections between higher brain centers and the spinal cord caudal to the injured zone. Thus, the higher and more complete the lesion, the greater the autonomic dysfunction and the severity of complications.This article summarizes the medical scientific literature on key systemic and metabolic alterations derived of SCI. It provides information primarily focused on the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of these disorders, as well as some guides to prevent and alleviate such complications. Due to the impact of these alterations, this topic must be a priority and diffuse to those involved with the care of people with SCI, including the patient himself/herself. We consider that any collaborative effort should be supported, like the development of international standards, to evaluate autonomic function after SCI, as well as the development of novel therapeutic approaches.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Bertram K. Woitok ◽  
Shawki Bahmad ◽  
Gregor Lindner

Background.Exertional heat stroke is a life-threatening condition often complicated by multiorgan failure. We hereby present a case of a 25-year-old male presenting with syncope after a 10  km run in 28°C outside temperature who developed acute liver failure. Case Presentation. Initial temperature was found to be 41.1°C, and cooling measures were rapidly applied. He suffered from acute renal failure and rhabdomyolysis and proceeded to acute liver failure (ASAT 6100 U/l and ALAT 6561 U/l) due to hypoxic hepatitis on day 3. He did not meet criteria for emergency liver transplantation and recovered on supportive care. Conclusions. Acute liver failure due to heat stroke is a life-threatening condition with often delayed onset, which nevertheless resolves on supportive care in the majority of cases; thus, a delayed referral to transplant seems to be reasonable.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xukai Jiang ◽  
Nitin A. Patil ◽  
Mohammad A. K. Azad ◽  
Hasini Wickremasinghe ◽  
Heidi Yu ◽  
...  

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have been an urgent threat to global public health. Novel antibiotics are desperately needed to combat these 'superbugs'.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Dollery ◽  
Daniel V. Zurawski ◽  
Elena K. Gaidamakova ◽  
Vera Y. Matrosova ◽  
John K. Tobin ◽  
...  

Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterial pathogen that is often multidrug-resistant (MDR) and causes a range of life-threatening illnesses, including pneumonia, septicemia, and wound infections. Some antibiotic treatments can reduce mortality if dosed early enough before an infection progresses, but there are few other treatment options when it comes to MDR-infection. Although several prophylactic strategies have been assessed, no vaccine candidates have advanced to clinical trials or have been approved. Herein, we rapidly produced protective whole-cell immunogens from planktonic and biofilm-like cultures of A. baumannii, strain AB5075 grown using a variety of methods. After selecting a panel of five cultures based on distinct protein profiles, replicative activity was extinguished by exposure to 10 kGy gamma radiation in the presence of a Deinococcus antioxidant complex composed of manganous (Mn2+) ions, a decapeptide, and orthophosphate. Mn2+ antioxidants prevent hydroxylation and carbonylation of irradiated proteins, but do not protect nucleic acids, yielding replication-deficient immunogenic A. baumannii vaccine candidates. Mice were immunized and boosted twice with 1.0 × 107 irradiated bacterial cells and then challenged intranasally with AB5075 using two mouse models. Planktonic cultures grown for 16 h in rich media and biofilm cultures grown in static cultures underneath minimal (M9) media stimulated immunity that led to 80–100% protection.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Zakaria Abdellahoum ◽  
Max Maurin ◽  
Idir Bitam

Francisella tularensis (Ft) is the etiological agent of tularemia, a disease known for over 100 years in the northern hemisphere. Ft includes four subspecies, of which two are the etiologic agents of tularemia: Ft subsp. tularensis (Ftt) and Ft subsp. holarctica (Fth), mainly distributed in North America and the whole northern hemisphere, respectively. Several routes of human infection with these bacteria exist, notably through bites of Ixodidae ticks. However, mosquitoes represent the main vectors of Fth in Scandinavia, where large tularemia outbreaks have occurred, usually during the warm season. The mechanisms making mosquitoes vectors of Fth are still unclear. This review covers the inventory of research work and epidemiological data linking tularemia to mosquitoes in Scandinavia and highlights the gaps in understanding mosquitoes and Ft interactions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Fabián Moscoso Martínez ◽  
Evelyn Carolina Polanco Jácome ◽  
Elizabeth Guevara ◽  
Vijay Mattoo

The clinical presentation of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is not specific. Many patients can be asymptomatic and can be detected only due to an abnormal complete blood cell count (CBC) on routine exam or for other reasons while others can be symptomatic as a consequence of underlying cytopenias. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) usually is suspected under the evidence of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) and thrombocytopenia and because it is a life-threatening condition (medical emergency) immediate initiation of plasmapheresis could be life-saving. The following case illustrates an unusual presentation of MDS in a patient who came in to the emergency room with the classic TTP “pentad” of fever, renal involvement, MAHA, mental status changes, and thrombocytopenia. We will focus our discussion in the clinical presentation of this case.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Mohammad Saud Khan ◽  
Faisal Jamal ◽  
Zubair Khan ◽  
Abhinav Tiwari ◽  
Hermann Simo ◽  
...  

Duodenal perforation is a rare but life-threatening complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Duodenal perforation can cause air leak into the extraperitoneal space. In rare instances, the air in the extraperitoneal space could dissect along the fascial planes of the abdomen to reach scrotum, leading to pneumoscrotum. We present the case of a 35-year-old male patient who developed scrotal pain and swelling following ERCP. He was found to have extensive pneumoscrotum, pneumoretroperitoneum, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema. The patient was diagnosed with retroperitoneal duodenal perforation. He was managed conservatively with close monitoring and supportive care.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document