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These findings reveal that an emphasis on death and dying in baccalaureate nursing schools has definitely increased over the past 20 years. Ninety-five percent of the schools reported here have some emphasis on death and dying. The majority of nursing students take the death and dying offerings. Overwhelmingly, the professional background of the instructor is nursing. While only 5 percent of the schools do not offer anything in death and dying, nearly half of these plan to offer something "within the next five years." If death and dying offerings influence students' attitudes, as is suggested in research cited above, baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States apparently have taken positive steps toward helping nurses cope with dying over the past 20 years. If nurses themselves cannot deal with death, caring for a dying patient may be difficult. With continued increased emphasis on death and dying in nursing curricula, both nurses, patients, and patients' families will hopefully benefit.

A 29-year-old Haitian man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome presented with nasal obstruction and epistaxis. A computed tomogram of the head showed thickened nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa. A biopsy specimen of the turbinate disclosed inflammatory tissue containing amoebic trophozoites. The patient was empirically treated with rifampin and ketoconazole. He died four months after biopsy of other complications of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. At autopsy, the amoebic infection was found only in the paranasal sinuses, a calf nodule, and in an intradermal abscess in the left leg. Pneumocystitis carinii pneumonia, Mycobacterium avium-cellulare in the liver and retroperitoneal lymph nodes, cytomegalovirus infection of the adrenal glands, and Kaposi's sarcoma in the spleen were additionally present. The organism was cultured and studied by electron microscopy, dark-field microscopy, and immunofluorescence.

A case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis in a human, involving the ankle and caused by Scytalidium lignicola, is described. The isolate was found to be sensitive to amphotericin B, 5-fluorocytosine, miconazole, and ketoconazole in vitro.

The outcomes of two different 12-week exercise programs were assessed by machine measurements of motor signs, tests of grip strength, motor coordination and speed, and neurophysiologic determinations of long-latency stretch responses in two groups of Parkinson patients matched for age, sex and stage of disease. The programs tested included an exercise program developed by the United Parkinson Foundation and a program of upper body karate training. Outcomes of these programs were similar. The majority of patients in both groups showed improvements in gait, tremor, grip strength and motor coordination on tasks requiring fine control. In one task involving whole body coordination there was a decline in function, while muscle rigidity was unchanged. The findings suggest that exercise is a useful adjunct to pharmacologic therapy.

Cerebrospinal fluid of aztreonam were measured in 11 patients with meningeal inflammation. Two to eight hours after a single 2 gm intravenous dose, CSF aztreonam levels ranged from 0.76 to 16.6 mg/l. The mean CSF concentration in four patients with viral meningitis was 1.28 mg/l, which was lower than the mean concentration of 7.2 mg/l in the five with bacterial, cryptococcal or carcinomatous meningitis. Two patients with infected subdural drains were also sampled serially and had CSF levels greater than 1 mg/l between 1 and 8 h post dose. Penetration of aztreonam into the CSF in the presence of meningeal inflammation appears adequate to warrant therapeutic trials in patients infected with susceptible organisms.

Forty-five adults with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and their 45 spouses, 109 children, and 29 household contacts were studied for evidence of heterosexual, perinatal, and household spread of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) infection. Of the 45 spouses enrolled, 26 (58%) had antibody to HTLV-III, including 12 (71%) of 17 male spouses and 14 (50%) of 28 female spouses. Of the 12 seropositive male spouses, nine were seropositive at enrollment and three had seroconversion. Of the 14 seropositive female spouses, four were seropositive at enrollment and ten seroconverted. Lack of barrier contraceptive use and oral sex were associated with seroconversion. Of the 109 children enrolled, 15 had AIDS or an AIDS-related illness, two had evidence of passive transfer of maternal antibodies, and two had HTLV-III infection acquired outside the household. None of the 90 seronegative children seroconverted. Of 29 household contacts studied, none developed antibody to HTLV-III.

Comparison of adolescent sex information sources for black and white males and females in a Northeast Texas community was made from 1964 and 1974 questionnaire data (N = 367 and 432 respectively). A general change from parents to friends as the stated sources of major sex information was noted over the decade. While parents are still the preferred source of sex information for most of these adolescents, friends as a preferred source increased in frequency especially for males. Overall, both stated and preferred sex information sources showed more significant changes for males than females.

Thirty-six patients with AIDS and culture-proven nontuberculous mycobacteriosis were compared to 20 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and tuberculosis with regard to clinical signs, symptoms, and diagnostic methods. Patients with nontuberculous mycobacteriosis were more often younger and homosexuals, while patients with tuberculosis were usually Haitian-American or users of intravenous drugs. A majority of patients with tuberculosis presented with fever and weight loss. These symptoms were seen in approximately 50 percent of the patients with nontuberculous mycobacteriosis. A distinct syndrome of dyspnea, chills, hemoptysis, and chest pain was seen in a significant minority of patients with nontuberculous mycobacteriosis. Lymphadenopathy was seen almost exclusively in patients with tuberculosis. Pulmonary sources (expectorated sputum or bronchoscopy specimens) were the most common source of diagnosis in both groups. Patients in both groups in whom the diagnosis was obtained from pulmonary sources frequently had negative chest x-ray films on presentation. Cavitary disease was absent from both groups.

Medical specialty of physicians was related to attitudes toward dying patients to determine if differences occur as suggested by the literature. Data from a questionnaire completed by 1,012 physicians from the classes of 1972--1975 in five selected medical schools were analyzed using the chi-square distribution to test the relationship between the response to each of the 11 Likert-type statements and the medical specialty of the physicians. Mean responses by medical specialty to the statements were ranked and correlated to Rea's ranking with respect to the probability of dealing with terminal patients by specialty using a Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient. Support was found for Rea's conclusion that physicians such as oncologists with a high probability of relating to dying patients tended to be more open with the patient whereas a specialty like obstetrics-gynecology with a low probability tended to operate in more of a closed awareness context.

A broad spectrum of gastrointestinal pathogens can cause diarrhea in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). A systematic approach utilizing symptomatology and the appropriate diagnostic tests will maximize the clinician's chance of identifying the specific pathogens. Enteric infections in AIDS patients are often incurable and require prolonged therapy and chronic suppression. Experimental agents show promise of decreasing the morbidity and mortality attendant on diarrhea in AIDS patients.

These data obtained from 1093 recent graduates of five selected medical schools suggest that the physician who chose to take a medical school course on relating to dying patients tends to actually relate better to the dying patient than does the physician who did not take such a course.

Piperacillin, a new semisynthetic penicillin, was evaluated for efficacy and safety in 26 patients, most of whom had pneumonia. Included were four patients with gram-negative meningitis in whom the penetration of piperacillin into cerebrospinal fluid was determined. Cure was achieved in 11 of 17 patients with pneumonia; another 4 were improved. One relapse and one failure occurred among nine patients with gram-negative pneumonia. Cure or improvement occurred in seven of nine patients with gram-negative infection in various extrapulmonary sites. Piperacillin given by continuous infusion in a dosage ranging from 324 to 436 mg/kg of body weight per day to four patients with meningitis resulted in a mean cerebrospinal fluid level of 23 micrograms/ml at 24 h; the mean penetration of piperacillin into the cerebrospinal fluid was 32% at this interval. Levels of piperacillin in cerebrospinal fluid collected later during the course of therapy were also adequate. Adverse effects were noted in six patients, but only one episode of granulocytopenia was serious. Emergence of resistance to piperacillin did not occur, and only one superinfection was noted. Piperacillin appeared to be efficacious in the treatment of pneumonia. It penetrated well into the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with meningitis and may be useful for treatment of selected gram-negative infections in extrapulmonary sites.

Characteristic pathological alterations of the liver in chimpanzees inoculated with non-A, non-B hepatitis sera have been described, but no corresponding findings have been reported in humans. Electron microscopic studies of the liver biopsy specimens of two homosexual patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, one without hepatitis (Patient 1) and one with chronic active hepatitis in remission (Patient 2), revealed the cytoplasmic tubular structures which are characteristic of chimpanzee non-A, non-B hepatitis. A cluster of 23 nm double-shelled particles was also seen in the cytoplasm of a hepatocyte in patient 1 who had received a blood transfusion 8 days before the biopsy. These particles were smaller than the Dane particles, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus or herpes simplex virus, and different from hepatitis A virus particles; the antibodies to all of which are found in high concentration in acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients. These observations may reflect the morphologic findings for non-A, non-B hepatitis infection in humans.

The minimal inhibitory concentrations of piperacillin and seven other betalactam antibiotics were determined against 407 bacterial isolates. Piperacillin was found to be more active than ampicillin against susceptible gram-negative bacilli and more active than either carbenicillin or ticarcillin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and streptococci. Although piperacillin was active against Klebsiella pneumoniae, this activity was less than that of the cephalosporins. Piperacillin was not active against penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae that were resistant to the other test antibiotics.

To evaluate the validity of the Done nomogram in the management of acute adult salicylate intoxications, a retrospective review of cases at our institution was performed. The degree of severity (ie, asymptomatic, mild, moderate, or severe) as determined by plotting the serum concentration and time on the nomogram for 55 acute salicylate intoxications was compared with the degree of severity decided on by three experienced emergency physicians who based their decision on the clinical presentation of the cases and the original criteria devised by Done for each category of severity. Discordant classifications between the nomogram and the physicians provided a basis on which a predictive index for the nomogram and various subsets of cases could be determined. The calculated predictive index for the nomogram was 0.42, with the highest predictive index of 0.79 in the mild salicylate category. The nomogram tends to overpredict the severity of intoxication in the moderate and severe categories. There was no significant difference between predictive indexes of mixed versus nonmixed or enteric-coated acetylsalicylic acid versus plain acetylsalicylic acid cases, although the nomogram had a higher predictive index when used for concentrations drawn six to 12 hours after ingestion (P less than .01, Fisher's exact test). Decisions on management of an acute salicylate overdose should be based on clinical presentation and good judgment as well as the serum salicylate concentration in relation to the time of ingestion.

A sight-threatening cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis is often associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). We report the detection and quantitation of antibodies specific for CMV and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the vitreous fluid and serum of an AIDS patient suffering from bilateral CMV retinitis. The ratio of the concentrations of HIV-1-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) to total IgG in the vitreous fluid was found to be higher than that of the peripheral blood, indicating a local production of HIV-1-specific IgG synthesis within the ocular compartment. In contrast, CMV-specific IgG levels in serum were found to be higher than that of vitreous fluid, indicating an intact blood-ocular barrier. CMV and HIV were also isolated from the ocular tissues of this patient. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that CMV retinitis may be associated with HIV-1 infection of the ocular tissues, which evokes an HIV-1-specific humoral immune response locally within the ocular compartment.

Two patients presented to the emergency department with features of a histamine-like reaction and were subsequently determined to have scombroid fish poisoning. It is important to recognize the syndrome as an intoxication rather than an allergic reaction in order that the source of the toxin can be identified and further cases prevented. A review of the features and pathogenesis of the syndrome is presented.

An outbreak of paresis occurred on a small isolated stud farm in July 1980. Of the 42 horses on the stud, infection was confined to a group of nine in-foal mares and their foals and eight other horses which were either housed together at night or grazed adjacent pastures. Eight mares and two geldings developed ataxia or paresis and one mare died. Equid herpesvirus 1 was isolated from 17 animals and serological studies confirmed that 24 of 26 animals sampled had experienced infection.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a common complication of infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), occurs in as many as 3.8% of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We report 16 cases and review 12 previously reported cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy associated with HIV infection. This illness was the presenting manifestation of HIV infection in 8 cases. Limb weakness, gait abnormalities, visual loss, aand altered mental status were the commonest initial complaints. Computed tomography of the brain frequently showed hypodense, nonenhancing white matter lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging was more sensitive than computed tomography in detecting lesions. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis and electroencephalography were nondiagnostic. Impaired cell-mediated immunity was typically noted, even in the absence of other immunodeficiency-associated illnesses. Death occurred within 10 days to 18 months of the onset of symptoms in 22 patients. However, 4 patients remain alive at 3 to 23 months; of these 4, 2 have had significant improvement without treatment. Various therapies were unsuccessful.

The authors investigated the effect of repeated doses of oral activated charcoal on salicylate elimination in six healthy volunteers. On two occasions (phase I and phase II; separated by one week) each subject received 1300 mg of aspirin as an aqueous solution. On the second occasion (phase II) each subject also received a total dose of 55 g of aqueous activated charcoal initiated 4 hours after salicylate administration (25 g initial dose, followed by three 10 g doses at two hour intervals). Serum salicylate levels were measured from one to twelve hours post aspirin ingestion. The pharmacokinetic analysis showed no significant change between phase I and phase II for either the salicylate elimination half-life or the area under the concentration versus time curve from 4-12 hours post aspirin ingestion. Reasons for the lack of effect of repeated doses of charcoal on salicylate elimination are discussed and, these results cannot necessarily be extrapolated to the overdose situation. Further investigation is warranted to assess the effect of repeated doses of activated charcoal in the salicylate-overdosed patient.