American journal of therapeutics
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of the analgesic efficacy of dexketoprofen trometamol and meperidine HCl in the relief of renal colic.
In this study, the analgesic effects of dexketoprofen trometamol and meperidine hydrochloride were compared in patients diagnosed with renal colic. This study was a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Fifty-two patients, between the ages of 18 and 70 years who were diagnosed with renal colic, were enrolled in the study after obtaining ethics committee approval. ⋯ Also, a statistically significant decrease was found in the diastolic arterial pressure in the meperidine group. But these changes in vital findings were not serious enough to disrupt patients' clinical status. With this study, we concluded that dexketoprofen trometamol, from the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug group, can be within the primary treatment options for renal colic because of better analgesic efficacy, being well tolerated by patients compared with meperidine hydrochloride.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on depression and quality of life in maintenance hemodialysis patients.
Depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are closely interrelated among hemodialysis (HD) patients and associated with negative impacts on patients' clinical outcomes. Considering previous reports on clinical benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in major depression and HRQoL in other patient populations, this study examined effects of omega-3 fatty acids on depression and HRQoL in chronic HD patients. In this randomized placebo-controlled trial, 40 adult patients with a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score of ≥16 and HD vintage of at least 3 months were randomized to ingest 6 soft-gel capsules of either omega-3 fatty acids (180 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 120 mg docosahexaenoic acid in each capsule) or corresponding placebo, daily for 4 months. ⋯ Except for mental health, social functioning, and general health, other domains of HRQoL showed significant improvement in the omega-3 group compared with the placebo group at month 4 of the study (P < 0.05 for all). Regression analysis revealed that ameliorated BDI score by omega-3 treatment had considerable role in the improvement of overall HRQoL score, physical and mental component dimensions, and score of physical functioning, role-physical, and bodily pain. Supplemental use of omega-3 fatty acids in HD patients with depressive symptoms seems to be efficacious in improving depressive symptoms and HRQoL.
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Serotonin syndrome (SS) is a life-threatening adverse reaction that can result from the therapeutic use of serotonergic drugs or accidental drug interactions. Tramadol is a drug that is widely prescribed because of its low abuse potential, but physicians need to be aware of its significant potential to cause SS because it inhibits serotonin reuptake. Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic that can also cause dangerous interactions to cause SS because it is not only a potent 5-HT1A agonist but also has been reported to inhibit serotonin reuptake with an affinity similar to tricyclic antidepressants, in addition to inhibiting reuptake of norepinephrine. We are describing the clinical characteristics of a gentleman with bipolar disorder and Parkinson disease who presented with SS, despite having a deep brain stimulator in the subthalamic nucleus, which decreases central serotonin levels, and a discussion of the factors that contributed to his presentation.
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Patterns of cyanide antidote use since regulatory approval of hydroxocobalamin in the United States.
Sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate are common cyanide antidotes. Hydroxocobalamin was approved for use in the United States in 2006. Our objective was to determine the frequency of antidote use as reported to the US poison centers from 2005 to 2009 and describe which antidotes were used in critically ill cyanide toxic patients. ⋯ Hydroxocobalamin use for cyanide toxicity increased each year as reported to the US poison centers. Reported use of sodium thiosulfate and sodium nitrite decreased over the same years. In addition, hydroxocobalamin was used more often each year in critically ill cyanide toxic patients than were sodium nitrite or sodium thiosulfate.