Role of Erythromycin for Treatment of Incipient Chronic Lung Disease in Preterm Infants Colonised with Ureaplasma urealyticumBührer, Christoph; Hoehn, Thomas; Hentschel, Juliane
doi: 10.2165/00003495-200161130-00002pmid: 11708762
Ureaplasma urealyticum is frequently isolated from tracheal aspirates of very low birthweight infants who go on to develop chronic lung disease. The use of erythromycin has been advocated in ventilated very low birthweight infants who are colonised with U. urealyticum, although the association between U. urealyticum and chronic lung disease remains controversial. There are only two randomised, controlled trials involving a total of 37 U. urealyticum-positive very low birthweight infants. Both trials failed to demonstrate a reduction in the incidence of chronic lung disease after 7 or 10 days of erythromycin. On the other hand, there are reports of rare but serious adverse effects of erythromycin in newborn infants including sudden cardiovascular compromise and hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. We conclude that, at present, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of erythromycin for the treatment of incipient chronic lung disease in very low birthweight infants colonised with U. urealyticum.
Cervical DystoniaVelickovic, Miodrag; Benabou, Reina; Brin, Mitchell
doi: 10.2165/00003495-200161130-00004pmid: 11708764
Dystonia is a syndrome of sustained involuntary muscle contractions, frequently causing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal posturing. Cervical dystonia (CD) is a form of dystonia that involves neck muscles. However, CD is not the only cause of neck rotation. Torticollis may be caused by orthopaedic, musculofibrotic, infectious and other neurological conditions that affect the anatomy of the neck, and structural causes.
Current Management of Primary Pulmonary HypertensionKlings, Elizabeth; Farber, Harrison
doi: 10.2165/00003495-200161130-00005pmid: 11708765
Primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a rare disorder with an annual incidence of 1 to 2 per million people. The aetiology of this disorder is unknown, but it appears to result from an abnormal interaction of environmental and genetic factors leading to a vasculopathy. The pulmonary arteries in these patients exhibit a spectrum of pathological lesions ranging from the early medial hypertrophy to the end-stage fibrotic plexiform lesions. This characteristic pathology is also observed in pulmonary hypertension resulting from connective tissue disease (particularly systemic sclerosis), HIV infection, portal hypertension and certain toxins.