VP16-213 and cyclophosphamide in non oat cell bronchogenic carcinoma.

Thirty-two patients with by non oat cell bronchogenic carcinoma were admitted to a protocol including Cyclophosphamide (CTX) 1,000 mg/m2 i.v. day 1, VP16-213 200 mg/m2 p.o. day 1-3, every 3 weeks. Partial remissions were seen in 2 of 27 evaluable patients; 16 of 27 showed no change. Mean survival was 36.4 weeks, median survival was 38 weeks.

The influence of seaprose on erythromycin penetration into bronchial mucus in bronchopulmonary infections.

In bronchopulmonary infections antibiotics can be combined with other drugs, called mucoactive drugs, that act to reduce the abnormal viscoelasticity of the mucus enabling a deeper penetration of more antibiotic into the mucus. Seaprose is a protease that interacts with the polymeric fibrillar structure of the bronchial mucus to shorten the long chains of mucoproteins, DNA and other macromolecules, thus reducing the viscosity of the mucus. In order to assess whether the combination of seaprose (60 mg/8 h) plus erythromycin (500 mg/8 h) allows higher antibiotic levels in sputum than erythromycin (500 mg/8 h) plus placebo, the pharmacokinetic behaviour in sputum and in blood of these two treatments was investigated in a double-blind study in two groups of twenty patients each with bronchopulmonary infections. Serum and sputum levels were determined for each patient at the first and seventh day of the two drug regimens. Statistically significant differences for peak, AUC and MRT, were observed for erythromycin between the first and last dose in the group of patients treated with seaprose plus erythromycin; moreover significant differences for these parameters were observed between the two groups. These findings indicate the presence of a pharmacokinetic synergism between seaprose and erythromycin which allows erythromycin to penetrate bronchial secretion more easily and in higher amounts, performing a sterilizing action with therapeutic advantages.

Role of noninvasive ventilation in elderly patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure.

The effectiveness of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in treating patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) is showed by its ability to diminish the recurrence to endotracheal intubation (ETI), the occurrence of ETI-associated lung infections as well as related mortality. A specific issue is the outcome of NIV in patients referring to Emergency Department for ARF who receive a do-not-intubate (DNI) order because of too critical conditions or advanced age. Recent data show that elderly patients (mean age 81 years) with ARF who have a DNI order can be successfully treated by NIV, as demonstrated by a survival rate of 83%. The positive outcome was confirmed by a subsequent 3-year observation, that demonstrated an overall survival rate of 54%. These findings clearly suggest to treat by NIV elderly patients also in presence of a DNI order.

Bactericidal effect of ceftriaxone versus imipenem plus cilastatin in bronchial secretion.

The bactericidal quotient (BQ) assessed in the site of infection represents an essential parameter for evaluating the real bactericidal potency of an antibiotic in vivo. The assessment and knowledge of BQ values allow us to set up a more accurate and appropriate antibacterial therapy. The two drugs--ceftriaxone (Rocephin) and imipenem plus cilastatin (Tienam)--that have been taken into consideration in this study, having a similar antibacterial spectrum though with different kinetics, may have the same BQ values in bronchial secretion versus Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus pneumoniae, when administered at different dosages, i.e. ceftriaxone 1 g (i.v.) every 24 h, imipenem 0.5 g (i.v.) every 8 h.

Prevalencia de bocio en escolares (6 a 14 años) de la ciudad de Mar del Plata / Goiter prevalence in school children (6 to 14 years) of Mar del Plata city

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar la prevalencia de bocio en escolares de la ciudad de Mar del Plata. Se seleccionó una muestra entre alumnos de 6 a 14 años de edad de escuelas urbanas y periurbanas de la ciudad de Mar del Plata; la muestra se realizó por conglomerados y posteriormente por métodos aleatorios. Se encuestaron 889 alumnos, 54,1 por ciento de sexo masculino y 45,9 por ciento del femenino, y se recolectó orina en un 8,7 por ciento de los varones. Se detectó un 17,2 por ciento del nivel Ia, 1,7 por ciento Ib y 0,1 por ciento II Total = 19 por ciento (según clasificación OPS). No se observaron diferencias significativas respecto al sexo y edad, ni a la provisión de agua corriente y/o de pozo ni a residencia urbana o rural. Si se observó diferencia significativa entre escuelas Estatales y Privadas : 21,2 por ciento y 11,6 por ciento respectivamente. Dado las diferencias observadas entre los distintos equipos de trabajo (todos los profesionales intervinientes con experiencia en palpación de tiroides), se resolvió efectuar ecografía a un 20 por ciento de los positivos más un 10 por ciento de normales : los resultados de las ecografías avalan ampliamente los hallazgos palpatorios. De las 53 muestras de orina procesadas, se observó un promedio de 21,1 mcg/dl de iodo con un desvío standar de 6,7 mcg/dl (es decir, iodurias altamente satisfactorias). Se ha decidido profundizar la investigación, determinando anticuerpos TPO y medición TSH, para destacar tiroiditis crónica e hipotiroidismo subclínico