Prevalence of Atopy following Mass Drug Administration with Albendazole: A Study in School Children on Flores Island, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: In many rural areas of tropical countries such as Indonesia, the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infections remains high. At the same time, the burden of allergic disorders in such rural areas is reported to be low and inversely associated with helminth infections. To reduce the morbidity and transmission of helminth infections, the world health organization recommends preventive treatment of school children by providing mass drug administration (MDA) with albendazole. Here, we had an opportunity to evaluate the prevalence of skin reactivity to allergens before and after albendazole treatment to get an indication of the possible impact of MDA on allergic sensitization. METHODS: A study was conducted among 150 school children living in an area endemic for STH infections. Before and 1 year after anthelminthic treatment with albendazole, stool samples were examined for the presence of STH eggs, skin prick tests (SPT) for cockroach and house dust mites were performed, blood eosinophilia was assessed, and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in plasma. RESULTS: Anthelminthic treatment significantly reduced the prevalence of STH from 19.6 before treatment to 6% after treatment (p < 0.001). Levels of total IgE (estimate: 0.30; 95% CI 0.22-0.42, p < 0.0001), CRP (estimate: 0.60; 95% CI 0.42-0.86, p = 0.006), and eosinophil counts (estimate: 0.70; 95% CI 0.61-0.80, p < 0.001) decreased significantly. The prevalence of SPT positivity increased from 18.7 to 32.7%. Multivariate analysis adjusted for confounding factors showed an increased risk of being SPT positive to any allergen (OR 3.04; 95% CI 1.338-6.919, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that 1 year of MDA with albendazole was associated with a reduced prevalence of STH infections. This study shows that the prevalence of allergic sensitization increases after 1 year of albendazole treatment. Placebo-controlled and larger studies are needed to further substantiate a role of deworming treatment in an increased risk of allergic sensitization.

Risk Factors for Inpatient Hypoglycemia in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Indonesia.

Introduction: Hypoglycemia is an important and harmful complication that often occurs in inpatient and outpatient settings. This study aims to assess the incidence of inpatient hypoglycemia and its related factors. We also assessed mortality and length of hospital stay. Methodology: We performed a retrospective cohort study among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus admitted to a tertiary hospital in Indonesia. Using multivariate regression, we analyzed age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities, history of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia treatment administered, nutritional intake, and medical instruction as the related risk factors for inpatient hypoglycemia. Results: From 475 subjects, 80 (16.8%) had inpatient hypoglycemia, of which, 7.4% experienced severe hypoglycemia. We found that patients with a history of hypoglycemia (RR: 4.6; 95% CI: 2.8-7.6), insulin and/or sulfonylurea treatment (RR 6.4; 95% CI: 1.6-26.5), and inadequate nutritional intake (RR 2.6; 95% CI: 1.5-4.3) were more likely to have hypoglycemic events compared to those who did not. The length of hospital stay for patients in the hypoglycemic group is significantly longer than those in the non-hypoglycemic group (13 vs 7 days, p<0.001), but their mortality rates did not differ (16% vs 10.9%, p=0.18). Conclusion: Inpatient hypoglycemia may be affected by a history of hypoglycemia and inadequate nutritional intake. Patients who had inpatient hypoglycemia tend to have a longer median length of hospital stay.

Hospital related hyperglycemia as a predictor of mortality in non-diabetes patients: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hyperglycemia is a condition often found in hospitalized patients due to stress injury, parenteral nutrition or medications administered during hospitalization. According to previous studies, hyperglycemia could be an independent predictor of mortality. The objective of the study is to assess the risk of mortality in non-diabetic patients with hyperglycemia during hospitalization. METHODS: In this systematic review, we conducted literature reviews on several databases. Twelve studies were retrieved and critically reviewed using NOS. RESULTS: A majority of the studies reported that hospital related hyperglycemia increased the mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital related hyperglycemia is an independent predictor factor for both in-hospital and long-term mortality.

The risk factors of inpatient hypoglycemia: A systematic review.

Hypoglycemia is an important and harmful complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) that often occurs in inpatient or outpatient settings. Hypoglycemia can be divided into two types, i.e. primary hypoglycemia when hypoglycemia is the main diagnosis for admission, whereas secondary hypoglycemia if hypoglycemia occurs during hospitalization. Hypoglycemia during hospitalization or secondary hypoglycemia may arise from various risk factors, such as advanced age, comorbid diseases, type of diabetes, previous history of hypoglycemia, body mass index, hyperglycemia therapy given, as well as other risk factors such as inadequate glucose monitoring, unclear or unreadable physician instructions, limited health personnel, limited facilities, prolonged fasting and incompatibility of nutritional intake and therapy administered. Hypoglycemia can lead to medical and non-medical impacts, such as increased mortality, cardiovascular disorders, cerebrovascular disorders, and increased health care costs and length of stay. The incidence of inpatient hypoglycemia can actually be prevented by controlling modifiable risk factors and also giving education about hypoglycemia to patients and health workers. We performed a literature research in Pubmed, EBSCOhost, and Scopus to review the possible risk factors for inpatient hypoglycemia. Eleven studies were retrieved. We presented the result of these studies as well as a brief overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, impact and preventive strategy.