Adverse drug reactions in internal medicine units and associated risk factors

Objectives  

This study was designed to assess the prevalence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the internal medicine wards of two teaching Hospitals, identify the most common ADRs, the principal medications involved, and determine the risk factors implicated in the occurrence of such ADRs.     

Corneal conjunctivalisation in long‐standing contact lens wearers

Background: There are many contact lens‐related ocular surface disorders. Some can damage the limbal region where stem cells are thought to be located in its basal cell layer. This damage can result in destruction and a deficiency of corneal stem cells. One important sign of this complication is corneal conjunctivalisation. The purpose of this study is to describe clinical characteristics of a series of long‐standing contact lens (CL) wearers with corneal conjunctivalisation (CC). Methods: In a one‐year (March 2004 to March 2005) retrospective unmasked study, 591 CL clinical histories (195 new patients and 396 review patients) were analysed. Results: There were 24 eyes of 14 myopic patients (93 per cent women) with CC without a specific disease entity known to cause limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). Conjunctivalisation occurred in the inferior limbus of three eyes (12 per cent). Only four patients (28.6 per cent) reported previous ocular symptoms. All were myopic with a mean spherical equivalent of ‐8.80 ± 5.00 (SD) dioptres (range from ‐1.75 to ‐21.50 D) and mean visual acuity 0.9 ± 0.2 (range from 0.4 to 1.2). The mean years of CL wear was 17.6 ± 8.5 (CI 95% 13.2 to 22; range six to 30). All were daily‐wear patients with a mean daily‐wear time of 12.5 ± 1.8 hours per day (CI 95% 11.6 to 13.4). Conclusion: Corneal conjunctivalisation is a contact lens‐related complication in asymptomatic patients. Optometrists can play an important role in early diagnosis, education and management of these patients.     

Methamphetamine dependence increases risk of neuropsychological impairment in HIV infected persons.

Both HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence can be associated with brain dysfunction. Little is known, however, about the cognitive effects of concurrent HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence. The present study included 200 participants in 4 groups: HIV infected/methamphetamine dependent (HIV+/METH+), HIV negative/methamphetamine dependent (HIV-/METH+), HIV infected/methamphetamine nondependent (HIV+/METH-), and HIV negative/methamphetamine nondependent (HIV-/METH-). Study groups were comparable for age, education, and ethnicity, although the HIV-/METH- group had significantly more females. A comprehensive, demographically corrected neuropsychological battery was administered yielding a global performance score and scores for seven neurobehavioral domains. Rates of neuropsychological impairment were determined by cutoff scores derived from performances of a separate control group and validated with larger samples of HIV+ and HIV- participants from an independent cohort. Rates of global neuropsychological impairment were higher in the HIV+/METH+ (58%), HIV-/METH+ (40%) and HIV+/METH- (38%) groups compared to the HIV-/METH- (18%) group. Nonparametric analyses revealed a significant monotonic trend for global cognitive status across groups, with least impairment in the control group and highest prevalence of impairment in the group with concurrent HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence. The results indicate that HIV infection and methamphetamine dependence are each associated with neuropsychological deficits, and suggest that these factors in combination are associated with additive deleterious cognitive effects. This additivity may reflect common pathways to neural injury involving both cytotoxic and apoptotic mechanisms.     

Scleral show

Scleral show is an anatomical condition in which the sclera area is visibly exaggerated due to constitutional, evolutive, or endocrine etiology. It can also occur because of iatrogenies, and is considered one of the most complex blepharoplasty complications. Its evolution and poor response to treatment are questionable. The defect is not always linked to an ectropion, and the basic differences between the two are explained. During blepharoplasties, in order to avoid iatrogenic scleral show, among other complications, one should take special precautions with the quantity and the exact location of the tarsal portion of orbicularis oculi muscle to be resected.     

Age influence on sucrose hydrolysis and on monosaccharide absorption along the small intestine of rat

The consequences of aging on the hydrolysis and absorption of hexoses was assessed in vitro using everted intestinal segments. Glucose and fructose were given either as a mixture of free monosaccharides or as a disaccharide solution (sucrose). The jejuno-ileum of 3- and 24-month-old rats was everted and divided into four equal segments. For each segment, the mucosal medium contained either sucrose (140 mM) or an equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose (70 mM). Monosaccharide concentrations in the mucosal ans serosal media were measured after 1 h of incubation at 37 degrees C. In the young adult, glucose absorption was enhanced when given as sucrose. In contrast, in the aged rat, free glucose or glucose released from sucrose hydrolysis were similarly absorbed. Independently of age, fructose was better absorbed when provided in a mixture of free monosaccharides. The intestinal segments (and especially the ileum), of the aged animals exhibited higher abilities to hydrolyse sucrose and to absorb monosaccharides indicating a normal or increased intestinal hydrolytic activity and absorptive capacity for dietary sugars.     

HLA-DRB1*1602 allele is positively associated with HPV cervical infection in Bolivian Andean women

Incidence of cervical cancer is high among Bolivian Andean women. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is known as the major risk factor of cervical cancer. The host immune system plays an important role in the outcome of HPV infection and associated malignancies. In order to study the immunogenetic background of Bolivian Andean women with regard to HPV infection status, we compared HLA class I and class II allele frequencies between 37 HPV positive and 68 HPV negative Bolivian women. Demographic variables, including distribution of Andean ethnicities, were similar in both groups. Comparison of HLA class I allele frequencies between both groups indicated no significant difference. In contrast, HLA class II DRB1*1602 allele, an Amerindian allele, was significantly higher in the HPV positive women compared with HPV negative controls (chi(2) = 5.2, p < 0.05, odds ratio = 3.17; 95% confidence interval = 1.4-8.8). HPV types present in the HPV positive group were HPV-18, -16, -31, -33, and -58. These results suggest that HLA class II DRB1*1602 may confer susceptibility to infection with genetically related HPV types. This is the first report of an HLA class II association with HPV infection in an Andean population.