Organophosphate poisoning in pregnancy.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B Bailey.
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BACKGROUND: Hydroxyzine has been used for many years for the treatment of allergic symptoms. Cetirizine, an active metabolite of hydroxyzine, has become very popular for the treatment of allergy symptoms because of its efficacy without the sedating effects of the parent compound. Little is known about the safety of hydroxyzine use during pregnancy, and there are no published reports on the effects of cetirizine on pregnancy outcome. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether hydroxyzine and cetirizine are associated with any increased risk of malformations in humans. METHODS: All pregnant women counseled by the Motherisk Program in Toronto on the use of hydroxyzine or cetirizine during their pregnancies were enrolled in a prospective, controlled, observational study. The control group consisted of pregnant women matched for age, smoking, and alcohol consumption who were counseled for non-teratogenic drug. RESULTS: One hundred twenty women were followed after exposure to either hydroxyzine or cetirizine during pregnancy. Of these, 53 were exposed to hydroxyzine during organogenesis and 39 to cetirizine. There were no significant differences found between the hydroxyzine or cetirizine groups and the control groups in the pregnancy outcome: rate of livebirths, spontaneous or therapeutic abortion, or stillbirth. There was also no difference in the rates of major or minor anomalies, mean birth weight, mode of delivery, gestational age, or presence of neonatal distress. CONCLUSIONS: The use of hydroxyzine and cetirizine does not appear to be associated with increased teratogenic risk.
The objective of this prospective multicenter study was to determine whether cisapride is associated with increased risk of malformations, spontaneous abortions, or decreased birthweight when used during pregnancy. Cases were paired for age, smoking, and alcohol consumption with controls exposed to nonteratogens, as well as with disease-paired controls. One hundred and twenty-nine pregnant women were exposed to cisapride during pregnancy, including 88 during the period of fetal organogenesis. There were no differences in maternal history, birthweight, gestational age at delivery, and rates of livebirths, spontaneous or therapeutic abortions, fetal distress, and major or minor malformations among groups. It is concluded that exposure to cisapride during pregnancy is not associated with a major increased risk of malformations or spontaneous abortions or with decreased birthweight.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons are well known to produce ventricular arrhythmias because of myocardial sensitization to endogenous catecholamines, but cases of myocardial ischemia have not been described frequently. We report 2 cases of myocardial ischemia after exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbons. The first patient developed an asymptomatic myocardial infarction after inhalation of 1,1,1-trichloroethane at work. It is believed that 1,1,1-trichloroethane produced a coronary spasm that was sufficient to cause myocardial necrosis in the presence of coronary vessels already compromised by atherosclerosis. The second patient developed a reversible symptomatic myocardial ischemia of 4 h duration after chloral hydrate overdose. The evolution in both patients was favorable. Exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbons can be associated with myocardial ischemia particularly if the coronary circulation is already compromised.
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BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence points to a pathologic role for cytokines in Crohn's colitis. Levels of cytokines are increased in diseased segments of colon in Crohn's colitis, but no one has studied the concentration of cytokines in clinically and histologically nondiseased segments. METHODS: Mucosal biopsies were obtained from 7 patients with active segmental Crohn's colitis and from 7 controls without inflammatory bowel disease. The concentration of Interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 in patients and controls were determined using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and compared. Histologic sections were also performed to confirm diseased and nondiseased segments of colon. RESULTS: The concentrations of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and IL-8 were significantly higher in the involved segments of colon (10.3 +/- 4.1, 3.7 +/- 1.0, 34.4 +/- 6.9 picograms [pg] per mg) when compared to controls (1.8 +/- 0.5, 1.1 +/- 0.5, 5.3 +/- 1.0 pg/mg). The concentrations of IL-1 beta, IL-2, and IL-8 (8.5 +/- 2.9, 5.3 +/- 1.2, 26.3 +/- 8.8 pg/mg) in normal appearing segments of colon of patients with Crohn's colitis were also significantly higher than in controls, whose IL-2 level was 2.0 +/- 0.5 pg/mg. IL-1 beta and IL-8 were significantly more concentrated in both the involved and uninvolved colonic segments of patients with Crohn's colitis compared to controls. IL-2 and IL-6 were also more concentrated in Crohn's patients than in controls, but not significantly. The differences in interleukin concentrations between involved and uninvolved segments of colon in patients with segmental Crohn's colitis were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Although Crohn's colitis is often a segmental disease, concentrations of IL-1 beta and IL-8 are increased throughout the entire colon. These observations reinforce the hypothesis that Crohn's colitis involves the whole colon even when this is not apparent clinically or histologically.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: Because death has occurred with injury involving voltage as low as 50 to 60 V (probably the result of arrhythmias), we wanted to evaluate the necessity of cardiac monitoring in children sustaining electrical injuries with 120 or 240 V. DESIGN: The charts of 151 children who presented to the emergency department between April 1, 1989, and March 31, 1992, were reviewed. SETTING: A tertiary care pediatric teaching hospital. RESULTS: A total of 141 patients presented with 120-V electrical injuries. An ECG or a rhythm strip was performed in 93 patients (66%), and no arrhythmias were believed to have resulted from the electrical injury. Cardiac monitoring was done in 113 patients (80%) for a mean duration of 7.4 +/- 6.6 hours (median, 4 hours), and no arrhythmias were observed. Creatine phosphokinase levels were measured in 62 patients (44%) with a mean of 137 +/- 154 U/L (median, 96 U/L). The levels were elevated in 8 patients (12%), with no clinical significance. Follow-up was done in 112 patients (77%), and no significant adverse outcome was reported. There were only 10 patients in the 240-V group; no arrhythmias or adverse outcomes had occurred. CONCLUSION: On the basis of our findings, initial cardiac evaluation (ECG) and monitoring do not appear to be necessary in children sustaining household electrical injuries (120 and 240-V); however, the significance of loss of consciousness, tetany, wet skin, or current flow that crossed the heart region could not be determined in our investigation. Therefore, cardiac monitoring should be performed if one of these factors is present.
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The levels of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and its anabolites in the serum, bile, pancreatic juice, liver, pancreas, and skeletal muscle of dogs were compared after single bolus administration and after continuous infusion. Six dogs had a bolus of 5FU (15 mg/kg) and were studied for 120 min. Five dogs had a continuous infusion of 5FU (30 mg/kg) and were studied for 24 h. After the bolus infusion, serum 5FU levels were initially high and then declined, whereas anabolite levels gradually increased over 45 min. Within 2 h, anabolite levels exceeded 5FU levels in tissues but were undetectable in bile and pancreatic juice. During the continuous infusion, anabolite levels in serum increased more rapidly than 5FU levels and remained significantly higher for 24 h. Anabolite levels also exceeded 5FU levels in bile, pancreatic juice, pancreas, and muscle but not in the liver. Continuous infusion of 5FU produced higher levels of the anabolites than did bolus infusion and maintained constant levels throughout the infusion period.
The effect of high-dose leucovorin on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) pharmacokinetics was studied in 5 patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma. Patients received leucovorin, 500 mg/m2, and 5-FU, 600 mg/m2, on 1 day and 5-FU alone 1 week later. Plasma concentrations of 5-FU and 5-FU anabolites were determined over 2 hr. Levels of 5-FU were highest initially and then fell rapidly. Plasma concentration-time curves suggested a two-compartment kinetic model. Anabolite levels exceeded 5-FU levels after 15 min. When leucovorin was administered, the time of distribution (t1/2 alpha for 5-FU increased from 8.9 +/- 2.4 to 12.8 +/- 2.5 min (p < 0.0005) and the volume of distribution (Vd) increased from 0.129 +/- 0.039 to 0.237 +/- 0.033 L/kg (p < 0.03). Elimination and plasma clearance of 5-FU were unchanged. Anabolite levels were initially lower (p < 0.05) with leucovorin, suggesting increased tissue extraction of 5-FU.
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The use of fluorescence microscopy for investigating the three-dimensional structure of cells and tissue is of growing importance in cell biology, biophysics and biomedicine. Three-dimensional data are obtained by recording a series of images of the specimen as it is stepped through the focal plane of the microscope. Whether by direct imaging or by confocal scanning, diffraction effects and noise generally limit axial resolution to about 0.5 microns. Here we describe a fluorescence microscope in which axial resolution is increased to better than 0.05 microns by using the principle of standing-wave excitation of fluorescence. Standing waves formed by interference in laser illumination create an excitation field with closely spaced nodes and antinodes, allowing optical sectioning of the specimen at very high resolution. We use this technique to obtain images of actin fibres and filaments in fixed cells, actin single filaments in vitro and myosin II in a living cell.
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