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Biomedical subjects

B R Canaday

Publications and source records attributed to B R Canaday.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Propantheline bromide in the management of hyperhidrosis associated with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: To report 2 cases in which oral propantheline reduced the discomfort associated with sweating related to spinal cord injury (SCI), and to review the literature on the management of SCI-related sweating. CASE SUMMARIES: Case 1: A 27-year-old quadriplegic man with an American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Frankel class C injury to C5/C6 experienced profuse sweating and requested propantheline. He stated that he had received the medication previously and reported that propantheline 15 mg tid had controlled his sweating. Propantheline bromide was reinstituted, and within 24 hours, the patient's episodes of profuse sweating had decreased markedly in number and frequency. Case 2: A 35-year-old quadriplegic woman had an ASIA class D lesion at C3. Since her injury, she had experienced profuse sweating that worsened when she became cold and at night. She stated that her sweating was under control as long as she took propantheline. Propantheline therapy was continued and no further sweating episodes have occurred. DATA SOURCE: A MEDLINE search was used to identify pertinent literature including reviews. Standard texts and texts referenced in the pertinent literature also were examined. STUDY SELECTION: All available sources of information were reviewed. DATA SYNTHESIS: The earliest case reports of systemic therapy for hyperhidrosis described the use of the anticholinergic methantheline bromide. Methantheline in combination with ergoloid mesylates also was suggested for the treatment of congenital hyperhidrosis. Local topical therapy for hyperhidrosis, such as aluminum chlorohydrate and aluminum chloride, the active ingredients in some antiperspirants, have been tried with some success. Talc, starch, and other powders have been suggested to absorb excessive sweat. Formalin and glutaraldehyde also have been used. Topical propantheline bromide has been used successfully in treating palmar and plantar hidrosis. Clonazepam has been used successfully in a case of unilateral localized hyperhidrosis. Systemic phenoxybenzamine has been used with some success and there have been attempt at other systemic therapy using mecamylamine, atropine, propoxyphenel, and methenamine. Scopolamine patches also have been used successfully in a small number of patients. Other agents that have been used include dibenamine, piperoxan, and phentolamine. Systemic propantheline also has been listed as an agent with potential efficacy in treating the profuse sweating associated with SCI, but was not recommended primarily because of adverse effects and difficulty in titrating to the lowest effective dosage. However, studies or case reports specific to the use of propantheline in patients with SCI appear to be lacking, as are reports of direct comparison between propantheline and other agents. DISCUSSION: Concerning the mechanism of action of propantheline bromide for hyperhidrosis, it seems reasonable to attribute its effects to the drug's well-documented anticholinergic/antimuscarinic actions. At dosages used to effectively treat neurogenic bladder, propantheline bromide also should block the muscarinic receptors responsible for sweat gland stimulation. Central nervous system adverse effects should be minimal at usual clinical dosages, as propantheline does not cross the blood-brain barrier. CONCLUSIONS: It would appear that in some patients with SCI who are subject to incidental episodes of profuse sweating, oral propantheline may offer some relief and may, in fact, be well tolerated, as in the cases described. Additionally, propantheline would seem a good therapeutic choice in SCI patients with excessive sweating and neurogenic bladder dysfunction who may derive dual benefit from the agent.

Adult

Documenting pharmaceutical care: creating a standard.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the need for a standardized, systematized approach to document patient pharmacotherapy, workable in all pharmacy practice settings, and to propose a model to meet the identified needs. DATA SOURCE: A MEDLINE search was conducted, in addition to an assessment of current practices and a review of known sources of pharmacotherapy/pharmaceutical care evaluation and documentation methodology. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy lacks a universally accepted, standardized, systematized approach to document the evaluation of a patient's pharmacotherapy. An approach is presented that distills the concepts of pharmaceutical care into a manageable documentation format and provides a customization of the medical history and physical examination/subjective-objective-assessment-plan system to meet the unique needs of pharmacy. This approach provides a convenient format for notes for all pharmacists, applicable in any practice setting. It provides a starting point for decisions on what pharmacy wants and accepts as a standard to provide continuity of pharmaceutical care to patients, uniform communication with healthcare colleagues, appropriate instruction to students, data analysis to demonstrate the value of services, and needed guidance to software vendors, medical records departments, and third-party payers.

Data Collection

Interpreting digoxin concentrations.

In all cases, clinical assessment of the patient is the most critical factor in determining dose and interpreting concentrations. When done accurately, laboratory assessment of drug concentrations represents only one source of information. Serum concentrations must be taken into account along with all other relevant clinical data before one can arrive at appropriate management decisions. They must not be considered in isolation and out of context. If the laboratory report is at variance with your clinical judgment, "it will often be the better part of wisdom to question (or reject) the report."

Arrhythmias, Cardiac

Warfarin-induced intramural hematoma of the small intestine.

A case of warfarin-induced intramural hematoma and hemorrhagic infarction of the small intestine is described, and the literature on this adverse effect is reviewed. A 32-year-old white woman who had been receiving warfarin and carbamazepine came to a clinic complaining of lower back and stomach pain. She had a history of iliofemoral deep venous thromboses and seizures. A pelvic sonogram showed a large quantity of fluid present. Her prothrombin time (PT) was 29.2 sec. Her hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit were within the normal ranges. The patient was admitted to the hospital when her back pain increased and she vomited. The warfarin was discontinued. On day 5 the patient was still having abdominal pain and nausea. Her hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit had fallen to 6.6 g/dL and 20%, although her PT had decreased to 12.5 sec. On the same day, the patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy, and an indurated and ischemic area of jejunum was found and resected. The pathology report indicated the presence of hemorrhage and infarction consistent with an anticoagulant-related disorder. About 100 cases of intramural hematoma of the small intestine induced by anticoagulant therapy have been reported. Most patients are white males about 60 years of age. The sites most frequently involved are the duodenum and proximal jejunum. Symptoms include constipation, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Laboratory test and radiological findings are fairly nonspecific, but when found together in a patient receiving an anticoagulant, the diagnosis can be made with some confidence. Management may be complicated by the bleeding disorder, the intestinal obstruction if present, and the original indication for warfarin therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Variables affecting creatinine clearance prediction.

Patient data were analyzed retrospectively to evaluate the relationship between several body-weight variables and creatinine production and clearance. Data from 722 creatinine clearance determinations in 627 patients older than 12 years were analyzed. Weight variables were actual body weight (ABW), lean body weight (LBW), ideal body weight (IBW), and lean body mass (LBM). Weight-independent and weight-dependent clearance prediction methods were evaluated. Actual creatinine clearance values were compared with these predictions. Use of LBW and IBW produced equivalent estimates of creatinine clearance that were closer to measured values than those obtained with ABW. The use of LBW or IBW was not appropriate in patients less than 60 inches tall nor in morbidly obese patients. Weight-dependent clearance estimation was superior to weight-independent predictions in morbidly obese patients. A new LBM-based clearance estimation formula was derived; it may be useful for patients less than 60 inches tall. The use of LBM, particularly in patients less than 60 inches tall, should be investigated further.

Adult

A pocket calculator program for prediction of warfarin maintenance dose.

A 398 step program, written for the TI59 programmable calculator, has been presented. The procedure allows the user to estimate a patient's maintenance warfarin dose requirements after administration of three 10 mg doses or after any series of doses which produces a PT value greater than or equal to 20. The equation used, although based on published literature data, require further evaluation to adequately assess their clinical accuracy. They may, however, provide a starting point for maintenance dose treatment after initial therapy.

Administration, Oral

A multicenter evaluation of variables affecting the predictability of creatinine clearance.

Data from 722 urine collections (627 patients) from 14 medical facilities were used to compare measured creatinine clearance values with clearance estimates calculated using three "urine-free' mathematical formulas. The influence of two patient weight variables (actual weight, lean body weight) and the level of renal function on clearance prediction was assessed. In addition, site parameters (region, facility), time parameters (month, day, day of the week), and patient parameters (age, sex, height, weight, diagnoses) were evaluated for their statistical influence on the relationship between measured clearance and estimates calculated with one of the methods. Strong, statistically significant correlations were observed between clearance values estimated with each prediction method and measured clearances. Although statistical differences were noticed between mean values predicted with each method, these differences were clinically insignificant. Use of lean body weight for calculation of creatinine excretion produced clearance estimates that were significantly lower than those obtained with actual weight and substantially closer to measured clearance values. Among patient variables, age and two specific diagnoses (congestive heart failure and pregnancy), were statistically associated with variability in the relationship between measured and predicted clearance. Interregional and interfacility differences in the measured-predicted clearance relationship, variability associated with the day of the week of collection, and tendency of the urine-free formulas to over-predict clearance support potential inaccuracy of measured clearance determination. The results suggest that inaccuracies in clearance determination, rather than inadequacies of urine-free prediction methods, account for the majority of the observed variability in the relationship.

Age Factors

Multicenter evaluation of six methods for predicting warfarin maintenance-dose requirements from initial response.

Warfarin maintenance-dose requirements predicted by six mathematical methods based on initial response to therapy were compared with patients' actual dose requirements in a multicenter trial. Data were collected for patients who had received an initial regimen of warfarin sodium 10 mg orally every 24 hours for three days and for whom a prothrombin time (PT) had been determined 16-20 hours after the third dose. Patients' individual dose requirements and PT values were recorded during one to three follow-up visits after discharge from one of seven medical centers. Prothrombin ratios (patient PT divided by control PT) calculated on day 4 were used for maintenance-dose prediction by five methods; a sixth method was based on the cumulative warfarin dose-PT response curve up to a PT value of 20 seconds. For 54 men and 30 women who qualified for the study, 197 maintenance-dose-PT response measurements were recorded; 95 in the first four weeks of therapy, 76 during weeks 5-12, and 26 at 6-12 months after initial treatment. Prothrombin ratios were within the therapeutic range (PT 1.5-2.5 times the control value) in 154 observations, and the mean actual warfarin sodium maintenance dose associated with therapeutic response was 7.6 mg/day. For patients with therapeutic prothrombin ratios, dose predictions by the five methods using prothrombin ratios (PRs) correlated significantly with actual dose requirements. The formula that predicted doses numerically closest to the actual dose is as follows: Dose = 11.17 - 21.08 (log PR). Only 45 observations were obtained for the sixth prediction method, and the correlation between actual and predicted doses was not significant. Initial warfarin maintenance-dose requirements can be predicted effectively based on one PT determination after administration of three daily 10-mg doses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Amnesia possibly associated with zolpidem administration.

Two patients experienced amnesia after taking zolpidem 5 and 10 mg. Neither patient could recall telephone conversations that took place within an hour of taking the drug. The first patient placed a call shortly after ingestion; the second took the dose, fell asleep, and was awakened by the call. Health care providers should be aware of the possibility that in some patients, sedative-hypnotic agents such as zolpidem may produce amnesia that begins a short time after ingestion and may persist into the sleep cycle. This may be particularly important in individuals who, after taking a hypnotic agent, may have to make significant decisions that they must be able to remember.

Adult