Specific and robust ion chromatographic determination of hypothiocyanite in saliva samples.

The enzymatic system in saliva, consisting of salivary peroxidase (SPO), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and thiocyanate (SCN-), produces hypothiocyanite (OSCN-) as a high effective antibacterial compound. OSCN- is of great importance for the natural non-specific antibacterial resistance in the oral cavity. However, no analytical method currently exists to selectively quantify OSCN- in saliva samples. A robust and specific analytical method for the determination of OSCN- was developed based on ion chromatography with combined UV and electrochemical detection. Calibration was achieved by calculating a derived calibration factor based on the known ratio of molar extinction coefficients of SCN- and OSCN-. Thus, the specific quantification of OSCN- in saliva samples is possible, as demonstrated here. The median value of 200 saliva samples was determined to be 0.56 mg L-1 (median), with a maximum of 3.9 mg L-1; the minimum value was below the detection limit (< 0.09 mg L-1). The recovery rate in individual saliva samples was 95 ± 8%.

Ethanol and ethyl glucuronide urine concentrations after ethanol-based hand antisepsis with and without permitted alcohol consumption.

BACKGROUND: During hand antisepsis, health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to alcohol by dermal contact and by inhalation. Concerns have been raised that high alcohol absorptions may adversely affect HCWs, particularly certain vulnerable individuals such as pregnant women or individuals with genetic deficiencies of aldehyde dehydrogenase. METHODS: We investigated the kinetics of HCWs' urinary concentrations of ethanol and its metabolite ethyl glucuronide (EtG) during clinical work with and without previous consumption of alcoholic beverages by HCWs. RESULTS: The median ethanol concentration was 0.7 mg/L (interquartile range [IQR], 0.5-1.9 mg/L; maximum, 9.2 mg/L) during abstinence and 12.2 mg/L (IQR, 1.5-139.6 mg/L; maximum, 1,020.1 mg/L) during alcohol consumption. During abstinence, EtG reached concentrations of up to 958 ng/mL. When alcohol consumption was permitted, the median EtG concentration of all samples was 2,593 ng/mL (IQR, 890.8-3,576 ng/mL; maximum, 5,043 ng/mL). Although alcohol consumption was strongly correlated with both EtG and ethanol in urine, no significant correlation for the frequency of alcoholic hand antisepsis was observed in the linear mixed models. CONCLUSIONS: The use of ethanol-based handrub induces measurable ethanol and EtG concentrations in urine. Compared with consumption of alcoholic beverages or use of consumer products containing ethanol, the amount of ethanol absorption resulting from handrub applications is negligible. In practice, there is no evidence of any harmful effect of using ethanol-based handrubs as much as it is clinically necessary.

Dermal and pulmonary absorption of propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol from hand rubs.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that nontoxic concentrations of ethanol are absorbed after hand hygiene using ethanol-based hand rubs. This study investigated whether absorption of propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol from commercially available hand rubs results in measurable concentrations after use. METHODS: The pulmonary and dermal absorption of propanol during hand rubs was investigated. Rubs contained 70% (w/w) propan-1-ol, 63.14% (w/w) propan-2-ol, or 45% (w/w) propan-2-ol in combination with 30% (w/w) propan-1-ol. RESULTS: Peak median blood levels were 9.15 mg/L for propan-1-ol and 5.3 mg/L for propan-2-ol after hygienic hand rubs and 18.0 mg/L and 10.0 mg/L, respectively, after surgical hand rubs. Under actual surgical conditions, the highest median blood levels were 4.08 mg/L for propan-1-ol and 2.56 mg/L for propan-2-ol. The same procedure performed with prevention of pulmonary exposure through the use of a gas-tight mask resulted in peak median blood levels of 1.16 mg/L of propan-1-ol and 1.74 mg/L of propan-2-ol. CONCLUSION: Only minimal amounts of propanols are absorbed through the use of hand rubs. Based on our experimental data, the risk of chronic systemic toxic effects caused by hand rubs is likely negligible. However, our study did not evaluate the consequences of long-term daily and frequent use of hygienic hand rubs.

Comparison of the antioxidant potential in urine, saliva and skin.

AIM: Free radicals, oxidative stress and their possible consequences for health are becoming increasingly important in modern medicine. Reactive species influence the organism, potentially causing oxidative cell damage. They can be produced by exogenous sources, or be a product of a variety of not only physiological metabolic processes, such as immune response, but also pathological processes. The antioxidant protection system protects the organism from oxidative damage caused by reactions producing an excess of free radicals. The analysis of antioxidant potential (AOP) is therefore becoming increasingly important for the diagnosis of individual vitality. METHOD: The photochemoluminescence method was used to measure the AOP in urine and saliva, spectrometry was employed to measure the ß-carotene content of the skin. In addition, it was investigated whether the AOP(saliva) correlated with the AOPU(urine) (uric-acid independent AOP) as well as the ß-carotene content of the skin. RESULTS: The AOP was significantly higher in urine than in saliva, and both values were significantly positively correlated with each other. However, there was no significant correlation to the ß-carotene content of the skin. DISCUSSION: The components of the AOPU(urine) are accumulated over time (night), whereas AOP measurement in saliva is like a snapshot, which explains why AOPU(urine) was significantly higher than AOP(saliva), although the two parameters are correlated with each other. ß-carotene is a fat-soluble antioxidant, whereas in our study, only water-soluble antioxidants were determined in the urine. This explains why there is no positive correlation between ß-carotene of the skin and AOP. CONCLUSION: For the characterization of the AOP in epidemiological studies, we recommend determining the AOPU(urine) and parallel to this, the ß-carotene content of the skin.

Can physical stress be measured in urine using the parameter antioxidative potential?

Although regular exercise is known to promote health, it is also well known that competetive sports can lead to an increase of free radical production, and thus to a drop in antioxidative potential. Thus, the present study examined the effect of competetive sports on the antioxidative potential (AOP). Using chemoluminescence, the AOP was measured in the spontaneous urine of leisure and semi-professional athletes during a training camp. Further, the parameters creatinin and uric acid were measured. It was shown that physical stress led to a drop in the antioxidant potential of up to approximately 50%. To compensate for this decline, special antioxidant food is recommended.

Cases of fatal poisoning in post-mortem examinations at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Greifswald--analysis of five decades of post-mortems.

Apparently, fatal poisoning as cause of death are still rarely found in unnatural deaths investigated in the institutes of forensic medicine. In the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Greifswald, 10-15% of the post-mortem autopsies displayed an intoxication during the last several decades with a possible decreasing tendency. Thirteen thousand eight hundred and nineteen autopsies were carried out in our institute-situated in a low populated rural area-during the last 50 years with the confirmed death cause intoxication in 1,589 times. In this study, especially the intoxication causes and the substance classes of the poisonous agents have been investigated. In addition, we analyzed the frequency of intoxications as well as sex and age of the deceased. Surprisingly, CO-intoxications were found most frequently with an incidence of 49% followed by alcohol intoxications with 21%. The latter was not unexpected taking into account the habits of the local population. Medical drugs and narcotics take only the third place, although the abuse of modern narcotics drugs is already visible even in the far east of Germany. The spectrum of substances which are abused, taken accidentally or deliberately is continuously changing, reflecting scientific progress in the pharmaceutical industry as well as fashion tendencies. Therapeutic use is almost always followed by abuse. Our results confirm prior experience concentrating mostly on other poisons like heavy metals or herbicides, etc. In addition, we could demonstrate the influence of political conditions on use and distribution of illegal drugs in Germany. Our study clearly demonstrates that insufficient equipment or analytical methods are no longer the reason for any problems uncovering lethal intoxications. They are rather due to insufficient investigations of the corpses (without considering the possibility of an intoxication as differential diagnosis) and to frequent mistakes of the prosecutor's office in death without signs of physical violence. These facts may explain the above mentioned decreasing tendency of intoxications, but they also clarify that this tendency probably does not correspond to reality.