International surveillance of bloodstream infections due to Candida species: frequency of occurrence and antifungal susceptibilities of isolates collected in 1997 in the United States, Canada, and South America for the SENTRY Program. The SENTRY Participant Group

An international program of surveillance of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in the United States, Canada, and South America between January and December 1997 detected 306 episodes of candidemia in 34 medical centers (22 in the United States, 6 in Canada, and 6 in South America). Eighty percent of the BSIs were nosocomial and 50% occurred in patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Overall, 53.3% of the BSIs were due to Candida albicans, 15.7% were due to C. parapsilosis, 15.0% were due to C. glabrata, 7.8% were due to C. tropicalis, 2.0% were due to C. krusei, 0.7% were due to C. guilliermondii, and 5.8% were due to Candida spp. However, the distribution of species varied markedly by country. In the United States, 43.8% of BSIs were due to non-C. albicans species. C. glabrata was the most common non-C. albicans species in the United States. The proportion of non-C. albicans BSIs was slightly higher in Canada (47.5%), where C. parapsilosis, not C. glabrata, was the most common non-C. albicans species. C. albicans accounted for 40.5% of all BSIs in South America, followed by C. parapsilosis (38.1%) and C. tropicalis (11.9%). Only one BSI due to C. glabrata was observed in South American hospitals. Among the different species of Candida, resistance to fluconazole (MIC, > or = 64 microg/ml) and itraconazole (MIC, > or = 1.0 microg/ml) was observed with C. glabrata and C. krusei and was observed more rarely among other species. Isolates of C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. guilliermondii were all highly susceptible to both fluconazole (99.4 to 100% susceptibility) and itraconazole (95.8 to 100% susceptibility). In contrast, 8.7% of C. glabrata isolates (MIC at which 90% of isolates are inhibited [MIC90], 32 microg/ml) and 100% of C. krusei isolates were resistant to fluconazole, and 36.9% of C. glabrata isolates (MIC90, 2.0 microg/ml) and 66.6% of C. krusei isolates were resistant to itraconazole. Within each species there were no geographic differences in susceptibility to fluconazole or itraconazole.     

Antimicrobial therapy in patients hospitalized in a medical ward. A report from the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program

The pattern of use of antimicrobial agents in 1,700 patients hospitalized in a medical ward at the Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, during 1969--72, is analyzed. Penicillins comprised 56%, tetracyclines 11%, streptomycin 9% and cephalosporins 3% of the total antimicrobial exposures. Ampicillin was given to 20% of the patient population. The use of tetracyclines and chloramphenicol fell steadily from 1969 to 1972. Fifty-five percent of the recipients of antimicrobial drugs received only one agent, 19% had concomitant therapy with several agents and the remainder received multiple antimicrobial drugs sequentially. One hundred and ten patients (6.5%) developed adverse reactions; the most common being rash and gastrointestinal reactions. Only two of the reactions were classified as causing major morbidity.     

Antimicrobial resistance of 1,113 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from patients with respiratory tract infections in Spain: results of a 1-year (1996-1997) multicenter surveillance study. The Spanish Surveillance Group for Respiratory Pathogens

A nationwide susceptibility surveillance of 1,113 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates was carried out and found the following percentages of resistance: cefuroxime, 46%; penicillin, 37%; macrolides, 33%; aminopenicillins, 24%; cefotaxime, 13%; and ceftriaxone, 8%. A significant (P < 0.05) seasonality pattern for beta-lactam antibiotics was observed. Resistance to macrolides was higher (P < 0.05) in middle-ear samples. Higher percentages of resistance to cefuroxime and macrolides were observed among penicillin-intermediate and -resistant strains, whereas high frequencies of resistance to aminopenicillins and expanded-spectrum cephalosporins were observed only among penicillin-resistant strains.     

Antimicrobial resistance of 914 beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from pharyngeal swabs in Spain: results of a 1-year (1996-1997) multicenter surveillance study. The Spanish Surveillance Group for Respiratory Pathogens

A nationwide susceptibility surveillance study of beta-hemolytic streptococcal isolates from pharyngeal swabs obtained in 11 Spanish hospitals between May 1996 and April 1997 against 12 antibiotics was carried out. Of the isolates 86% (786 of 914 isolates) were group A and 8.4% (77 of 914 isolates) were group C. No resistance was found to beta-lactam antibiotics, but significant differences (P < 0.001) with respect to lack of susceptibility to macrolides were found between groups (27% for group A and 12% for group C) and between seasons (13.2% in summer and 31.7% in winter). Most of these isolates displayed the M phenotype (low-level resistance to erythromycin and susceptibility to clindamycin).     

Merril Eisenbud (1915-1997)

We describe a case of bacterial endocarditis caused by Enterococcus faecalis, which was highly resistant to aminoglycosides. The patient was successfully treated with a combination of ampicillin, imipenem and vancomycin. We believe this to be the first case in the literature to be treated successfully with this combination.     

Stanley Schachter (1922-1997): Obituary.

Presents an obituary for Stanley Schachter, who died on June 7, 1997, in East Hampton, New York. It is doubtful that any social psychologist ever produced so many distinguished students. Stanley Schachter's contributions to psychology were extraordinarily broad. They included research and theory on group processes, communication, social influences on personal construction of reality, the affiliation motive, correlates of birth order, the nature of emotional experience, people's ability to attribute the causes of their behavior to external or internal factors, the causes of obesity and eating behavior disorders, and the addictive nature of nicotine. He made psychological research seem extremely exciting, and he convinced his students that they had the capability to do it well. His students, in turn, have themselves been successful as mentors. A remarkable fraction of the most highly regarded social psychologists in the country are the intellectual children, grandchildren, and now even great-grandchildren of this multiply talented investigator with protean interests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Giovanni Di Chiro (1926-1997)

OBJECTIVE: To test the value of venous-arterial PCO2 gradient (deltaPCO2) measurements to reflect the adequacy of cardiac index (CI) to oxygen demand in patients submitted to rapid changes of CI and oxygen demand. DESIGN: Prospective, comparative study. SETTING: Medical intensive care unit of a university hospital. PATIENTS: Ten patients with congestive heart failure exhibiting low baseline CI (< or =2.5 L/min/m2) but no evidence of global tissue hypoxia, as attested by the absence of clinical signs of shock and by normal blood lactate concentrations. INTERVENTIONS: Infusion of incremental doses of dobutamine: 0 (D0), 5 (D5), 10 (D10), and 15 (D15) microg/kg/min. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The CI increased by a linear fashion from D0 (1.6+/-0.1 L/min/m2) to D15 (2.4+/-0.2 L/min/m2) (p< .05). The mixed venous oxygen saturation (SVO2) increased from D0 (49+/-2%) to D10 (61+/-2%) (p < .05) and remained unchanged from D10 to D15 (60+/-2%). The oxygen extraction ratio (O2 ER) and the deltaPCO2 decreased from D0 (48+/-2% and 9+/-1 torr [1.2+/-0.3 kPa], respectively) to D10 (36+/-2% and 5+/-1 torr [0.7+/-0.1 kPa], respectively) (p < .05 for both comparisons) and remained unchanged from D10 to D15 (36+/-2% and 6+/-1 torr [0.8+/-0.1 kPa], respectively). The biphasic courses of SVO2, O2 ER, and deltaPCO2 were related to the course of oxygen consumption that remained constant from D0 (113+/-9 mL/min/m2) to D10 (112+/-8 mL/min/m2) and significantly increased from D10 to D15 (127+/-10 mL/min/m2) (p <.05). CONCLUSIONS: deltaPCO2 can be reliably used at the bedside for informing on the adequacy of CI with respect to a given metabolic condition, and particularly for detecting changes in oxygen demand (e.g., the changes accompanying drug-induced changes in CI). In this regard, deltaPCO2, together with O2 ER and SVO2, can help to assess the adequacy of CI to global oxygen demand.     

Ellen Pulford Reese (1926-1997): Obituary.

Memorializes Ellen Pulford Reese, a teacher, scholar and humanitarian. Reese was recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) as one of the 100 most important women in psychology. Her books, chapters, articles, conference presentations, and films transmitted the scientific findings and philosophical perspectives of behavior analysis. She also focused on animal welfare, contributing to the APA's guidelines for practical and humane treatment of laboratory animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical use and toxicity of intravenous lidocaine. A report from the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program

To determine the natural history of Meckel's diverticulum, 202 case records of proved disease of Meckel's diverticulum were retrieved, covering a fifteen year period, from all the hospitals of King County, Washington (population, 1,143,800). Using the figure of 2 per cent incidence of Meckel's diverticulum, we calculated that a Meckel's diverticulum has a 4.2 per cent likelihood of causing disease during a lifetime, decreasing to zero with old age. Using previously published mortality and morbidity figures, we calculated that to save one patient's life from the complications of Meckel's diverticulum, it would be necessary to remove approximately 800 asymptomatic Meckel's diverticula. This would be likely to incur a significant amount of postoperative morbidity from postoperative intestinal obstruction and infection. We suggest that the prophylactic removal of Meckel's diverticulum is rarely, if ever, justified.     

Tracy Seedman Kendler (1918-2001): Obituary.

Reports the death of Tracy Seedman Kendler (1918-2001). The author describes her educational background as well as her contributions to the field of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

David Merrill Clayson (1934-2001): Obituary.

Obituary for David Merrill Clayson (1934-2001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mervyn Kenneth Wagner (1929-2001): Obituary.

Reports the death of Mervyn Kenneth Wagner (1929-2001). The authors discuss his contributions to the fields of clinical and health psychology as well as his accomplishments in life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wallace A. Russell (1922-1997): Obituary.

Memorializes Wallace A. Russell, who was known for his work on topics such as the role of language in behavior. Russell and his colleagues were among the first investigators to use word association norms as a measure of past experience in experimental studies of recall, learning, perception, and individual differences. Their research advanced a neobehaviorist theory that emphasized the role of implicit mediating associations in language, thought, and action. Russell also researched the history of conceptions of drive and purpose. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lawrence I. O'Kelly (1913-1997): Obituary.

Presents an obituary for Lawrence I. O'Kelly, who died in Lansing, Michigan, on December 30, 1997. At the University of Illinois, the Laboratory of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, which Larry founded and directed (1961-1968), was an active and exciting center of research, seminars, colloquia, and uncommonly productive informal interactions among colleagues and graduate students. Larry was especially effective in helping students become inquisitive scientists, able to work independently on problems they found attractive. Most of Larry's research was focused on regulatory psychophysiology, an interest whose origin can be traced back to his early publications on motivation and learning. In 1968, Larry joined the faculty of Michigan State University as professor and chairperson of the Department of Psychology. Upon leaving his administrative duties, O'Kelly began earnest work on a massive bibliography of bird physiology and behavior. Just a month before his death, he celebrated the 100,000th entry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paralytic poliomyelitis (1989-1994): report from a sentinel center

OBJECTIVE: To study the trends of paralytic poliomyelitis in pre Pulse Polio Immunization period. SETTING: Hospital based sentinel surveillance. METHODS: Analysis of 6704 line-listed poliomyelitis cases from January 1989 to December 1994 attending the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. RESULTS: 85% of all cases reported in Delhi were from this center. A decline in alternate year peaks was observed from 1621 cases in 1990 to 1062 cases in 1994. There was an increase in proportion of cases with poliomyelitis in fully vaccinated children from 14% to 22.9%. Polio type I virus was the commonest isolated virus in all the years except 1993, when type II was isolated in 38.7% of cases. CONCLUSION: Despite improvement in immunization coverage, the study reveals that a large number of children (67.2%) who suffer from poliomyelitis are unvaccinated. This stresses need to intensify and sustain high level of immunization coverage with effective vaccine.     

Lee J. Cronbach (1916-2001): Obituary.

Reports the death of Lee J. Cronbach (1916-2001). The author gives a summery of his life and contributions to psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Donald D. Dorfman (1933-2001): Obituary.

Obituary for Donald D. Dorfman (1933-2001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Werner K. Honig (1932-2001): Obituary.

Reports the death of Werner K. Honig. The author discusses his contributions to the study of animal learning. A synopsis of his life is also given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)