Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics
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Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. · Feb 2010
Development and validation of a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: the GERD-QOL questionnaire.
A simple and meaningful health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients is lacking. ⋯ The instrument, GERD-QOL, is valid and reliable.
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Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. · Jan 2010
Who are the nonresponders to standard treatment with tricyclic antidepressant agents for cyclic vomiting syndrome in adults?
Cyclic vomiting syndrome in adults is a disorder characterized by recurrent and stereotypic episodes of severe nausea and vomiting separated by symptom-free periods. ⋯ (1) Nonresponse to standard therapy in adult cyclic vomiting syndrome patients occurs in approximately 13% and is not explained by under dosing with TCA therapy. (2) The main risk factors for nonresponse are: co-existing migraine headache, psychiatric disorder, chronic narcotic and marijuana use, which should be addressed aggressively when symptom exacerbations continue during attempts to induce remission in cyclic vomiting syndrome with high-dose TCA therapy.
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Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. · Jan 2010
Screening for hepatitis B in chemotherapy patients: survey of current oncology practices.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation occurs in up to 78% of patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy for nonhepatic malignancies. Reactivation can lead to hepatic dysfunction, jaundice and fulminant hepatic failure. Current recommendations include screening patients at risk for HBV prior to immunosuppressive therapy and initiating antiviral prophylaxis in patients with chronic HBV. ⋯ Twenty per cent of oncologists never screen for HBV prior to initiating chemotherapy. Office-based physicians were less likely to screen, treat or refer to a specialist prior to chemotherapy. Greater education regarding risk of HBV reactivation is needed for clinicians treating patients with immunosuppressive therapies.
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Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. · Jan 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialClinical trial: oral ondansetron for reducing vomiting secondary to acute gastroenteritis in children--a double-blind randomized study.
Vomiting as a consequence of gastroenteritis frequently occurs in children. It is still debatable whether vomiting should be treated with antiemetic drugs. ⋯ Ondansetron may be an effective and efficient treatment that reduces the incidence of vomiting from gastroenteritis during both the first 8 h and the next 24 h, and is probably a useful adjunct to oral rehydration.
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Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. · Dec 2009
Multicenter StudyAn investigation of medication adherence to 5-aminosalicylic acid therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis, using self-report and urinary drug excretion measurements.
Non-adherence to 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) medication can limit the established benefits of this therapy in ulcerative colitis (UC). ⋯ Our observations confirm the difficulty of accurately assessing medication adherence. Nonmodifiable (younger age, South Asian ethnicity) and potentially modifiable (medication beliefs) predictors of non-adherence were identified.