Archives of medical research
-
Comparative Study
Improving outcome of human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in a Mexican intensive care unit.
In Latin America, insufficient data are available to improve local admission policies for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in the intensive care units (ICU). We undertook this study to evaluate the outcome and survival determinants of HIV patients in a Mexican ICU during three time periods. ⋯ Overall survival in Mexican HIV patients admitted to an ICU has substantially increased in recent years. These data should encourage policies that consider HIV patients as good candidates for receiving intensive care.
-
Comparative Study
Exercise duration rather than peak oxygen uptake better correlates with Fev1 and inspiratory capacity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Exercise duration of constant-load endurance tests has been recently demonstrated to be more sensitive in detecting the changes after bronchodilator administration than either walking distance or peak oxygen uptake in patients with COPD. In the present study, we questioned whether exercise duration of progressive load is better correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and inspiratory capacity than other indices of submaximal exercise test during stable period in patients with COPD. ⋯ There is an impairment of aerobic capacity in stable period COPD patients compared to healthy controls. Exercise in COPD patients is ventilation-limited and exercise duration with respect to peak VO(2) is better correlated with FEV(1) and IC in stable COPD patients undergoing progressive-load cycling exercise.
-
Case Reports
Extremely prolonged INR associated with warfarin in combination with both trazodone and omega-3 fatty acids.
We report the case of a 65-year-old Caucasian male who had been taking warfarin for 6 months after an episode of postoperative pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). His medical history was otherwise insignificant. He received a prescription of trazodone and fish oil for not-very-well defined complaints. ⋯ Trazodone also has interactions with warfarin through not well-understood mechanisms. Although drug interaction reference texts classify warfarin-trazodone interaction as late-onset and clinically insignificant, this has been questioned in other studies. This particular case illustrates a possible interaction between warfarin and these two medications.