American journal of therapeutics
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Levetiracetam is a second-generation anticonvulsant that was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 1999 for the treatment of epilepsy. Recently, levetiracetam has become more popular for the prevention of posttraumatic seizures. Some of the well-known adverse effects of levetiracetam are somnolence, behavioral abnormalities, and less commonly, psychosis. ⋯ The patient's mental status improved dramatically within 24 hours after administration of the last dose of levetiracetam and he was discharged home. Based on the Naranjo scale, the episode of delirium was probably related to levetiracetam. Although the other neuropsychiatric effects of levetiracetam are well known, we highlight the first case of delirium without psychotic features associated with levetiracetam.
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Diphenhydramine toxicity manifests with signs of anticholinergic toxicity; therapy is generally supportive. In rare cases, patients can also present with a wide complex tachycardia due to sodium channel blockade. ⋯ Although intravenous fat emulsion (IFE) therapy is proposed as an adjunctive therapy due to the lipophilicity of diphenhydramine (octanol/water partition coefficient of 3.3), successful use of IFE after a confirmed sole ingestion of diphenhydramine is not previously reported. We present the case of a 30-year-old woman presenting with seizures, a wide complex tachycardia, and cardiovascular collapse after an ingestion of diphenhydramine refractory to other therapies with rapid improvement after IFE administration.
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In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of acetazolamide in the management of chronic metabolic alkalosis in neonates and infants with chronic respiratory insufficiency. A retrospective chart review of 90 patients treated with acetazolamide between 2006 and 2007 admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit was performed. Blood gases and electrolytes obtained at baseline and by 24 hours after acetazolamide administration were compared. ⋯ Uncompensated respiratory acidosis developed in 4 (3.1%) treatment courses. Acetazolamide may be effective in decreasing serum bicarbonate in carefully selected patients. Its use and safety as an adjunctive therapy for chronic metabolic alkalosis in neonates and infants with chronic respiratory insufficiency needs further study.
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The Food and Drug Administration's MedWatch system--a voluntary surveillance program--received 600,000 adverse event reports on marketed drugs and devices in 2011. The Food and Drug Administration credits the MedWatch system with improving awareness, and expediting early detection, of drug and device risks and in illuminating the adoption of medical treatments. Reporting bias has been acknowledged as a limitation of the MedWatch system. ⋯ More than 25% of the names of reported suspect products were inaccurate, and 31% of suspect product start dates were inaccurate. Higher levels of completion and accuracy were associated with reports filed closer to the date when the adverse event was observed. Implications of the results and suggested improvements are discussed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Does selective digestive decontamination prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in trauma patients?
The incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is particularly high in patients with trauma. The efficacy and safety of selective digestive decontamination (SDD) was not studied extensively. We aimed in our randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate whether SDD prevents VAP onset in multiple trauma patients. ⋯ The incidence of VAP in the 4 groups was, respectively, 45.5%, 46.2%, 22.2%, and 27.3% (P=0.236). In multivariate analysis, none of the 3 tested regimens was identified as a protective factor against VAP. However, prolonged duration of MV was the only independent factor predicting VAP onset (odds ratio=1.1; 95% confidence interval [1.1-1.4]; P=0.049).