They might be caused by a constricted airway, constricted esophagus, or constricted blood vessels. Symptoms also depend on how mush fibrosis has occurred. There may be cough, shortness of breath, coughing up blood, pain in the chest, and difficulty in swallowing. Causes
Acute
Esophageal perforation, a form of direct contamination, accounts for 90% of acute mediastinal infections. Esophageal perforation can arise from vomiting, incidental trauma from a procedure or operation, external trauma, ingestion of corrosive substances, malignancy, or other esophageal disease.Other causes of acute mediastinitis include infection secondary to cervical disease which arises from dental procedures, skin infections of the neck, neck trauma, or neck procedures.Descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM) was first described by Herman E. Pearse Jr., M.D. in 1938 and he stated, "the term mediastinitis means little unless qualified by a description of its type and kind." Although Descending Necrotizing Mediastinitis is an acute mediastinitis, it is distinct because it does not originate from structures within the mediastinum. Therefore, the term Descending Necrotizing Mediastinitis implies that the infection of the mediastinum originated from a primary site in the head or neck and descended through fascial spaces into the mediastinum.Though rare in developed countries, acute mediastinitis can be caused by inhalation of bacterial spores such as Anthrax. Historically, this infection was referred to as Wool-sorters Disease. In the lungs, spores can spread via lymphatics to mediastinal lymph nodes, where the mature rods can release exotoxins promoting edema and tissue necrosis. Clinically, persons infected with anthrax can develop a hemorrhagic mediastinitis, which manifests as acute pulmonary hemorrhage and meningitis.
Dosage with food does not appear to affect the absorption of cefadroxil. About 20% of cefadroxil is reported to be bound to plasma proteins. Its plasma half-life is about 1.5 hours and is prolonged in patients with renal impairment. Cefadroxil is widely distributed to body tissues and fluids. It crosses the placenta and appears in breast milk. More than 90% of a dose of cefadroxil may be excreted unchanged in the urine within 24 hours by glomerular filtration and tubular secretion; peak urinary concentrations of 1.8 mg/ml have been reported after a dose of 500 mg. Cefadroxil is removed by haemodialysis. Dosage
Cefadroxil is given by mouth, and doses are expressed in terms of the anhydrous substance; 1.04 g of cefadroxil monohydrate is equivalent to about 1 g of anhydrous cefadroxil. Veterinary use
It can be used for treating infected wounds on animals. Usually in powder form mixed with water, it has a color and smell similar to Tang. Given orally to animals, the amount is dependent on their weight and severity of infection. == References ==