Types of fluid disorder in children with bacterial meningitis

As part of a prospective study of children with bacterial meningitis we analyzed in 36 patients of our hospital the fluid balance on admission and during the first three days of treatment. On admission 10 of them (28%) had inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion SIADH, 10 (28%) hypo-osmolal and 10 (28%) iso-osmolal contraction. Six patients (17%) had no clear fluid disorder. The patients with SIADH had significantly lower mean serum NA+ (127 vs. 132 mEq/l, p less than 0.01) and higher mean urine Na+ (111 vs. 26 mEq/l, p less than 0.01) concentration as well as higher mean urinary Na+/K+ ratio (2.23 vs. 0.365, p less than 0.005) than the patients with hypo-osmolal contraction. They also tended to be younger and have a shorter history of fever. The patients with SIADH had a less strict fluid restriction than the patients with hypo-osmolal contraction, and their fluid balance normalized more slowly. Our findings support initial water restriction for all children with bacterial meningitis.

[Clonidine versus a placebo trial in manic disorder]

Clonidine efficacy was evaluated in 24 manic inpatients, hospitalised in a locked ward. This is a double blind and randomized study. The duration of the trial was 14 days, and the daily dose of clonidine was 0.225 mg/day during the first week, increased to 0.450 mg/day during the second week, in the case of incomplete improvement. There was a trend for a better efficacy of clonidine over placebo, but this did not reach significant, due to an important amelioration of many patients under placebo. The effects of the hospitalisation in a locked ward are discussed.

A simple method for storing cellular slime mold amoebae

A simple procedure has been developed for freezing of vegetative amoebae of various cellular slime mold species. This procedure can be used to store stocks of both developmentally competent and developmentally defective strains of cellular slime molds for periods up to at least 1 year.