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Biomedical subjects

B J Dong

Publications and source records attributed to B J Dong.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Current report--HIV. AIDS at the crossroads: a report from the 1990 International Conference on AIDS--San Francisco.

Major scientific and clinical breakthroughs in HIV disease are rarely saved for the International Conference on AIDS. Nevertheless, this conference provides an opportunity for experts, providers, and patients to gain new information, exchange ideas, and assess progress. The Conference is also a public forum for political and social discussion and serves as a barometer of scientific and social trends as well. This year's conference featured refinements in clinical care, a deeper understanding of the epidemiologic trends, and a public awareness of the many political aspects of the AIDS epidemic. Contributions from family physicians and other primary care providers about problems they face and the family aspects of HIV need still greater prominence and exposure. Hopefully family physicians will use their expertise and report at future international conferences.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Hypothyroidism resulting from generic levothyroxine failure.

In today's cost-conscious health care system, generic preparations should be prescribed whenever possible provided that safety and efficacy are not compromised. Several reports, however, suggest that generic levothyroxine may not always be interchangeable with the proprietary preparations. Such interchangeability is critical because patients are likely to receive different brands of levothyroxine during the life of their treatment. We report a case of severe hypothyroidism that developed in a patient who had been well controlled before receiving a generic levothyroxine preparation. Analysis of the patient's tablet by high-pressure liquid chromatography showed that the levothyroxine content was approximately 30 percent less than its labeled content and outside current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements. It is likely that poor tablet bioavailability was a contributory factor. Euthyroidism was achieved with the same dose of a more potent and possibly more bioavailable brand-name product. Until levothyroxine products become more uniform and the FDA confers therapeutic equivalence, product substitution with expense as the principal consideration should be avoided.

Adult↗