[Infectious exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: prospects for high-dose levofloxacin therapy].

This open comparative randomized study of efficacy, safety, and pharmacoeconomic characteristics of hilifox-750 (750 mg daily for 5 days) and amoxiclav 2X (875/125 mg twice daily for 10 days) included 60 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Duration of the study was 6 months. Medians of age and smoking index in the group treated with hilifox-750 were 63.5 yr (59, 67) and 30 packs/yr (15, 60) respectively. The treatment reduced cough, apnea, sputum volume and pyoptysis with comparative rates of normalization of body temperature and peripheral leukocyte counts in both groups. Helifox-750 promoted decrease in coughing and apnea within the first three days of therapy. 28 (93%) and 26 (87%) patients recovered by day 4 of helifox and amoxiclav therapy (F-test p = 0.67). Both drugs showed comparable bacteriological efficacy. They were not different in terms of side effect frequency that were mild, resolved spontaneously and did not require withdrawal of therapy. Helifox had advantages over amoxiclav in that it reduced duration of antibacterial therapy to 5 days and of temporary incapacity to 12 days (vs 14); moreover, it needs to be taken only once daily.

[Severe community-acquired pneumonia: etiology]. / Tiazhelaia vnebol'nichnaia pnevmoniia: étiologicheskaia struktura.

A complex microbiological (sputum, protected brush biopsy of the bronchial mucosa) and immunological examination of 40 male patients (the average age of 55.4 +/- 8.8 years) with severe community-acquired pneumonia (risk classes III-V according to Fine M.J. et al., 1997) revealed the disease etiology in 52.5 per cent of the cases. The leading pathogen was Streptococcus pneumoniae. It was detected in 61.6 per cent of the cases of the etiologically verified pneumonia. Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae were also among the actual pathogens (14.3 and 14.3 per cent respectively). The Legionnaires infection was not confirmed in any of the patients (enzyme-linked immunological analysis of urine for the serotype 1-6 Legionella pneumophila antigen). In the absolute majority of the patients the isolated pneumococci were susceptible (E-test) to benzylpenicillin. Only in 1 patients with severe pneumonia and secondary bacteriemia the pneumococcal isolates were moderately resistant to benzylpenicillin (the MIC of 0.125 mg/ml). Still, they were susceptible to ceftriaxone (the MIC of 0.023 mg/ml). The data are useful in the development of a national (regional) programme for empirical antibacterial therapy of severe community-acquired pneumonia.

[An analysis of the causes of death in bronchial asthma patients (based on the data from a 13-year prospective observation)]. / Analiz prichin smerti bol'nykh bronkhial'noi astmoi (po dannym 13-letnego retrospektivnogo nabliudeniia).

The results of the catamnestic study of case reports and records of postmortem examination of 102 patients with bronchial asthma (BA) aged 47 to 88 years who died at a general hospital during 1976-1988 indicate that in the overwhelming majority of cases, there took place death "with asthma" rather than death "from asthma". At the same time the dominant pathology was coronary heart disease (acute coronary failure, myocardial infarction, progressive heart failure associated with atherosclerotic and postinfarction cardiosclerosis). Emphasis is laid on the fact that according to the autopsy data, the rate of the recognized stenosing atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries considerably exceeded the number of cases of coronary heart disease documented clinically (typical angina pectoris of effort, significant macrofocal myocardial infarction). The characteristic features of the group under observation included an unexpectedly frequent combination of BA and malignant neoplasms (24 cases), including lung cancer in 13 of these cases.

[Isolated amyloidosis of the trachea]. / Izolirovannyi amiloidoz trakhei.

A case of isolated amyloidosis of the trachea in a woman aged 46 was described. The main clinical signs of the disease were dry cough, recurring hemoptysis and hoarseness of the voice. Endoscopy showed disseminated polypoid formations in the trachea. A histological study of mucosal biopsy from these formations revealed amyloid masses deposited in the submucosal layer. An additional study brought about no data on the generalized nature of amyloid dystrophy of any other organs. The use of computed tomography to determine the type of tracheal lesion in this localization of the process was shown to be promising.