Dietary and herbal supplements use among patients hospitalized in internal medicine departments

ObjectivesTo assess consumption of dietary and herbal supplements (DHS) among patients in internal medicine departments and determine whether such use is documented in their medical files.Methods267 patients from three internal medicine departments of an academic medical center in Haifa, Israel were assessed prospectively with questionnaires about their DHS use in the month preceding hospitalization. DHS were categorized into vitamins & minerals, herbal supplements and others. Further data was then collected from patients' medical records on socio-demographic and medical characteristics, as well as documentation of DHS use.Results123 patients (50.6 %) used DHS on a daily basis. Most of them (53.7 %) were using more than one DHS. DHS use was more prevalent in older (OR = 1.02 [1.001–1.036], p = 0.034) and educated (OR = 0.482 [0.252-0.923], p = 0.028) patients. Vitamins & minerals were used mainly to enhance vitality and address laboratory abnormalities, whereas herbal supplements were used mainly for gastrointestinal problems (p < 0.001). DHS use was reported to the physicians by 42 % of the patients, mostly at the patients’ initiative [92 (82.1 %), p < 0.001)]. Vitamins and minerals were the most reported category of DHS (94 (57.3 %), p < 0.001). The use of DHS was reported to physicians for 112 DHS (41.8 %) but only 32 DHS (11.9 %) were documented in their medical files. The documentation of vitamins and minerals was significantly higher compared to herbal supplements documentation (29 (17.7 %) & 3 (2.9 %) respectively, P < 0.001).ConclusionsDHS are commonly used by patients hospitalized in the internal medicine departments. Many patients do not report such use to the physicians, and more strikingly, physicians do not document DHS use in patient medical files. This communication gap may have serious medico-legal ramifications due to DHS side effects and DHS interactions with other DHS and with conventional drugs.     

促甲状腺素抑制治疗甲状腺癌患者的膳食调查分析

目的 对促甲状腺素(TSH) 抑制治疗期间的分化型甲状腺癌(DTC)患者进行膳食调查，为对患者进行个性化膳食指导及营养干预研究提供参考依据。方法 从湖南省肿瘤医院甲状腺内科的门诊患者中收集行TSH抑制治疗的DTC患者，根据抑制治疗副作用危险分层标准，收集低、中、高危患者各200例，共600例患者作为研究对象。对所有入选病例进行膳食调查:一年食物摄入频率和3天24小时回顾法膳食调查。结果 TSH抑制治疗的DTC患者整体人群膳食摄入不足且膳食结构不合理；整体人群畜肉类摄入过多，鱼类及水产品、蛋、奶、豆、蔬菜、水果则摄入过少；整体人群脂类、碳水化合物、维生素E摄入量基本达到要求；蛋白质、膳食纤维、钙、铁、锌、硒、维生素A、维生素B1、维生素B2、维生素C、烟酸摄入明显不足；碘摄入基本符合要求；低、中、高危组膳食摄入不足率分别是21.0%、8.0%、11.5%；中危组畜肉类摄入最多，碘摄入有0.5%的患者超标；高危组牛奶摄入最少。结论 TSH抑制治疗的DTC患者膳食结构不合理及多种营养素摄入不足，在临床工作中应加强对整体人群的营养教育及针对性的干预，以降低TSH抑制治疗对心血管系统及影响骨代谢的风险。     

Children's diets,pesticide uptake,and implications for risk assessment: An Israeli case study

The presence of pesticides in the Israeli food supply is well documented but little is known about the risks posed by children's diets for potential exposures. We investigated potential exposures to food-borne pesticides in a sample of 301 urban Israeli children (2008–10). Data from a food frequency questionnaire, 24 hour food recall, and Israel's national pesticide monitoring program were used to estimate uptake factors for 26 compounds in 27 fruits and vegetables. A pilot risk assessment was performed and the findings were compared with the Israel Ministry of Health's 2012 pesticide risk assessment for the general population. The surveyed children had higher potential exposures than the general population for over one third of the compounds, and uptake factors exceeded the Acceptable Daily Intake in ten compounds. Methamidophos, exceeded the ADI at the 25th percentile and fenamiphos, iprodione, and oxydemethon methyl, exceeded the ADI at the 50 percentile. ADIs for several compounds were exceeded even though the residues detected were below the statutory limit. Improved monitoring, enforcement, and revision of the Maximum Residue Limit for certain food/pesticide pairs are indicated as is the need to incorporate data on children's actual food consumption in national risk assessments.     

Glutathione S-transferase in the midgut tissue of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) caterpillars exposed to dietary cadmium

Activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) in midgut of gypsy moth caterpillars exposed to 10 and 30 μg Cd/g dry food was examined. Based on the enzyme reaction through conjugation with glutathione, overall activity remained unaltered after acute and chronic treatment. No-observed-effect-concentration (10 μg Cd/g dry food) significantly increased activity only after 3-day recovery following cadmium administration. Almost all comparisons of the indices of phenotypic plasticity revealed statistically significant differences. Despite the facts that GST has important role in xenobiotic biotransformation, our results indicate that this enzyme in insect midgut does not represent the key factor in cadmium detoxification.     

Effect of dietary fat content on the bioavailability of a sustained release quinidine gluconate tablet

Quinidine gluconate 324 mg sustained release tablets (Quinaglute) was administered as a single dose to 15 healthy male subjects following an overnight fast, immediately following a high fat (HF) breakfast or immediately following a low fat (LF) breakfast. Serum samples were obtained over a 48 h period and analyzed for quinidine content using a high performance liquid chromatographic assay. Under the conditions of the study, both the rate and extent of quinidine bioavailability was significantly affected by food. The extent of bioavailability was statistically significantly greater (p less than 0.05) following both the HF and LF meals as compared to that in the fasted state. Rate of bioavailability was significantly enhanced following the LF meal as compared to that of the other two treatment groups. Although peak concentrations were greater and time to peak concentrations somewhat later following the HF meal versus those under fasting conditions, these differences were not statistically significant. In addition, the characteristics of the serum concentration-time profile (as defined by the number, magnitude, and time of occurrence of the multiple absorption maxima) was unique for each of the three treatment groups. Possible mechanisms underlying these results are explored.