Methenamine

BACKGROUND: Despite a lack of conclusive evidence of effect, methenamine hippurate is widely prescribed as preventive treatment for recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Norway. A national discontinuation of methenamine hippurate treatment due to a 4-month drug shortage in 2019 presented an opportunity to evaluate its preventive effect on UTIs among regular users. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of the methenamine hippurate drug shortage on prescription frequency of UTI antibiotics...

A 62-year-old woman, originally from Peru, with rheumatoid arthritis under treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy, was admitted due to constitutional syndrome and suspicion of neoplasia. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed involvement of three segments of the colon, ascites, and likely peritoneal implants. Ascitic fluid analysis showed elevated adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels and lymphocytosis. The patient presented with hematemesis and hematochezia with hemodynamic instability. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy identified an extensive ulcer in the middle esophagus with a granular base, elevated and defined edges, indeterminate for malignancy and without blood residues...

Musculoskeletal coccidioidomycosis is a rare disseminated fungal infection caused by either Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii endemic to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, as well as Guatemala, Brazil, and other locations in Central and South America. Symptomatic primary infection of coccidioidomycosis can present as pneumonia with influenza-like symptoms, but the majority of cases remain asymptomatic. When dissemination occurs, the most common extrapulmonary sites include the skin, lymph nodes, musculoskeletal system, and meninges...

Introduction  Many patients suffered from rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in India. Diabetes is a known risk factor of COVID-19 infection and mucormycosis. Objective  The present study was done to describe the clinical spectrum and histopathological findings of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients and their outcomes. Methods  A cross-sectional study was done over a period of two and half months. The biopsy samples or scrapings from sinonasal or periorbital tissue of 38 patients were analyzed...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in women; more than 50% of women will be diagnosed with a UTI in her lifetime. Many of these women will go on to develop recurrent UTI. Nevertheless, evidence-based prevention of recurrent UTI is under-utilized. Here, the authors provide detailed practical advice on UTI prevention with a thorough review of the evidence. Non-antibiotic prevention measures discussed include increased fluid intake, vaginal estrogen therapy, methenamine, and cranberry. Antibiotic prophyalxis for carefully selected patients is also discussed...

A clinical case of an adult horse with invasive, ulcerative, proliferative, pyogranulomatous disease of the skin (tumor) in the shoulder region is presented. The mass had a granulomatous and crater-shaped appearance, with serosanguinous discharge and the presence of fistulas with caseous material. The tumor was removed by surgery and sent to the laboratory for diagnosis. Histopathology was performed using Grocott-Gomori methenamine silver stain. The presence of necrotic material, fibrosis, infiltrated cells, and brown-colored hyphae, characteristic of members of the genus Pythium, were observed...

Onchocerciasis treatment and control relies mainly on the use of ivermectin which has high activity against the microfilarial stage of Onchocerca volvulus but limited activity against the long-lived, tissue dwelling adult nematodes. As this neglected tropical disease has now been targeted for elimination, there is an urgent need for new drugs to combat these parasites, ideally with macrofilaricidal activity. In this study, we have examined the anti- Onchocerca activity of a range of existing FDA-approved drugs with a view to repurposing, which can lead to rapid and relatively inexpensive development...

An acute uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection of the lower urinary tract with no sign of systemic illness or pyelonephritis in a noncatheterized, nonpregnant adult with no urologic abnormalities or immunocompromise. In women, a self-diagnosis of a UTI with the presence of typical symptoms (e.g., frequency, urgency, dysuria/burning sensation, nocturia, suprapubic pain), without vaginal discharge, is accurate enough to diagnose an uncomplicated UTI without further testing. Urine culture and susceptibility testing should be reserved for women with recurrent infection, treatment failure, history of resistant isolates, or atypical presentation to make a definitive diagnosis and guide antibiotic selection...

Cryptococcosis usually occurs in immunocompromised patients and presents as meningitis and lung disease. Adrenal gland involvement may be observed, yet primary adrenal insufficiency by cryptococcal infection is infrequent. We present a case of a middle-aged immunocompetent man with primary adrenal insufficiency and bilateral adrenal lesions, splenomegaly, and miliary mottling in the lungs on imaging. No evidence of meningitis was witnessed. The clinico-radiological findings led toward the differential diagnosis of disseminated tuberculosis or fungal infection...

CONTEXT.—: The diagnosis of some infectious diseases requires their identification in tissue specimens. As institutions adopt digital pathology for primary diagnosis, the limits of microorganism detection from digital images must be delineated. OBJECTIVE.—: To assess the reliability of microorganism detection from digitized images of histochemical and immunohistochemical stains commonly used in pathology. DESIGN.—: Original glass slides from 620 surgical pathology cases evaluated for the presence of infectious microorganisms were digitized...

A middle-aged man in his 50s, active smoker, presented to the pulmonary office for lung cancer evaluation. On a low-dose computed tomography for lung cancer screening, he was found to have an 8 mm endobronchial lesion in the right main stem bronchus. A PET-CT revealed no endobronchial lesion, but incidentally, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity was present in the right hilar (SUV 13.2) and paratracheal lymph nodes (LNs). He underwent bronchoscopy and EBUS-TBNA of station 7 and 10 R LNs. The fine needle aspiration (FNA) revealed necrotizing epithelioid granuloma...

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Antibiotic resistance is an unavoidable consequence of antibiotic use and growing rates of resistance are an urgent issue. Methenamine is a non-antibiotic alternative used for urinary tract infection (UTI) prophylaxis. The objective of this review is to evaluate recently published literature regarding the efficacy and safety of methenamine for UTI prophylaxis. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL databases were queried in March 2023 using the following search terms: urinary tract infection, cystitis, bacteriuria, or dysuria, and methenamine...

Background: Lipoprotein glomerulopathy is an infrequent glomerular disorder that culminates in nephrotic syndrome and often progresses to kidney failure. Whereas most patients have been reported in Japan and China, limited reports have been documented outside these regions. This patient represents the first report of lipoprotein glomerulopathy in Pakistan. Case Presentation: A 25-year-old male patient, hypertensive for 2 years, presented with progressive body edema, frothy urine, and fatigue. Examination revealed elevated blood pressure, bilateral pedal edema, and positive shifting dullness...

UNLABELLED: Histoplasma capsulatum infection is infrequently considered in the differential diagnoses for acute pericarditis in immunocompetent hosts when presenting with tamponade physiology, given its gradual infective nature. We describe a case of a young male presenting solely with acute pericarditis with pericardial effusion and early cardiac tamponade physiology secondary to a pulmonary histoplasmosis infection. Our patient had no pulmonary symptoms; the only pulmonary manifestation of histoplasmosis included incidental findings of subcarinal lymphadenopathy and a left lingular nodule abutting the pericardium...

We describe a novel assay and artificial intelligence (AI) driven histopathologic approach identifying dermatophytes in human skin tissue sections (i.e., B-DNA dermatophyte assay) and demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of dermatophytes in tissue using immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect canonical right-handed double-stranded (ds-) B-DNA. IHC was performed using anti-ds-B-DNA monoclonal antibodies with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues to determine the presence of dermatophytes. The B-DNA assay resulted in a more accurate identification of dermatophytes, nuclear morphology, dimensions, and gene expression of dermatophytes (i...

Background Mucormycosis, attributed to a group of molds known as mucormycosis, is a rare yet life-threatening fungal infection often colloquially referred to as black fungus. While its incidence notably surged during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in India, it's essential to recognize that mucormycosis was a significant concern even before the advent of the pandemic. Understanding the prevalence and characteristics of this infection in the pre-COVID era provides a crucial context for evaluating its impact and dynamics during the pandemic...

Onychomycosis is the most common fungal nail infection accounting for 50% of nail disorders. This infection is most common in the toenails than in the nails of the fingers. It is caused by various fungal species like Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, Aspergillus spp, Fusarium spp, Acremonium spp, Alternaria spp, and Neoscytalidium. Among them, dermatophyte fungus is involved in 70% to 80% of infections. Clinically, there are five types of onychomycosis classified based on causative organism and location of infection origin...

BACKGROUND: A few recent studies have shown fungal elements within the hair follicle epithelium, which may act as a reservoir and responsible for recurrent dermatophytosis. OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical patterns, mycological profile, and histopathology of recurrent dermatophytosis and to determine the prevalence of fungal hyphae in the hair follicle epithelium and other appendages. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and fifty clinically diagnosed cases of recurrent dermatophytic infection were included...

BACKGROUND: Silica from plastic red top sample collection tubes and barium cause recognized artifacts in slide preparations for microscopic examination. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to evaluate and directly compare the microscopic appearance of silica and barium particles and various slide preparation techniques (e.g., use of coverslips, oil immersion, and different stains). A secondary objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of silica particles on cellular morphology after mechanical trauma with cytocentrifugation...

Fluoride (F) is widely distributed in the environment and poses serious health risks to humans and animals. Although a good body of literature demonstrates a close relationship between F content and renal system performance, there is no satisfactory information on the involved intracellular routes. Hence, this study used histopathology and mitochondrial fission to explore fluorine-induced nephrotoxicity further. For this purpose, mice were exposed to the F ion (0, 25, 50, 100 mg/L) for 90 days. The effects of different F levels on renal pathomorphology and ion metabolism were assessed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), periodic acid-Schiff stain (PAS), periodic acid-silver methenamine (PASM), Prussian blue (PB), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining...