Single oral dose pharmacokinetics of tenoxicam in the dose range intended for therapeutic application of the drug have been defined in healthy human subjects. Twelve male volunteers were given, in random fashion, oral administration of 10, 20 or 40 mg of tenoxicam. Plasma drug levels were determined by a standard HPLC method with U.V. detection. Model-independent analysis showed the clearance, elimination half-life and apparent volume of distribution to be independent of dose with mean values of 0.096 L/h, 76 h and 9.2 L respectively. Interindividual variation was six-fold and individual variation less than two-fold. Similar values for kinetic parameters were obtained by model-dependent methods. The pharmacokinetics of oral tenoxicam were linear in the 10-40 mg dose range and the single dose data predict five-fold accumulation for once daily administration.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An evaluation of the responsiveness of a comprehensive set of outcome measures for children and adolescents with traumatic brain injuries.

The relative responsiveness of nine outcome measure scales was evaluated with 33 children and adolescents (aged 4-18 years) who had sustained traumatic brain injuries. Scales were selected to evaluate outcomes from each of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health domains. The outcome measures were administered to all participants during their inpatient rehabilitation stay and again at a follow-up clinic visit. No single outcome measure captured the diversity of improvement in this sample. The measures agreed that improvement had occurred, but did not agree about which children were improving. This result suggests that the scales were measuring different skills and outcomes. Three of the measures used in combination, either the Child Health Questionnaire or the Functional Independence Measure for Children, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association National Outcome Measures System (Birth to Kindergarten NOMS/School-aged Health Care) and the Gross Motor Function Measure, are sufficient to detect change in each of the children where change occurred. The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and the MultiAttribute Health Status Classification were the least responsive of the nine measures used.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Yersinia enterocolitis in iron overload.

Yersinia enterocolitis with peritonitis and septicaemia developed in a 4-year-old child with thalassemia intermedia and iron overload. It is likely that the illness was exacerbated by continued administration of desferrioxamine, a bacterial siderophore, which facilitated systemic spread of Yersinia. It is recommended that Yersinia enterocolitis be considered in children with iron overload and that desferrioxamine be discontinued and prophylactic antibiotics be administered while Yersinia is sought.

Child, Preschool↗