Short Review of Sulphites as Food Additives.

Sulphites or sulphiting agents refer to sodium hydrogen sulphite, sodium metabisulphite, potassium metabisulphite, calcium sulphite, calcium hydrogen sulphite, and potassium hydrogen sulphite. As food additives, they are widely used by the food industry with a variety of commercial uses in food and beverages. Sulphites are effective bleaching agents, antimicrobials, oxygen scavengers, reducing agents, and enzyme inhibitors. Wine, beer, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, jam, juice, sugar, processed potatoes, seafood, meat and baked products are some of the food categories in which sulphites are added. Sulphites have been implicated in various health related issues. Asthmatic reactions and some antinutritional consequences such the degradation of thiamine (vitamin B1) are adverse reactions associated with sulphites. In many countries, sulphites have been regulated. Sulphites are generally recognized as safe in the USA with some exceptions when using in raw fruits and vegetables. In the European Union sulphites are also controlled, and the permitted amount varies according to the food product.

Interacciones de medicamentos y eventos adversos en fármacos utilizados en una unidad de cuidados intensivos / Drug interactions and adverse events induced by drugs used in an intensive care unit

Background: Eleven percent of hospitalized patients experience drug-drug interactions (DDIs), elevating morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Polypharmacy is very common in intensive care units (ICUs), increasing the risks of drug adverse events (AEs). Aim: To assess DDIs in ICU patients. Material and Methods: A prospective study conducted in the ICU of a private hospital, evaluating the frequency of DDIs, AEs developed and their relationship. Patients admitted to the ICU were included if they stayed at least three days in the ICU and received at least one studied drug Results: Thirty fve patients aged 59 ± 16 years (24 women) were enrolled in the study. Seventy six DDIs and 60 AEs were recorded. Statistically signifcant associations were only found for midazolam-fentanyl-propofol with bradycardia and hypotension and amphotericin B-vancomycin and vancomycin-amikacin with acute renal failure (ARF). Relative risks were 10.4 (95 percent confdence intervals (CI) 1.59 - 68) for bradicardia, 5 (95 percent CI 1.082 - 23.4) for hypotension and 6.4 (95 percent CI 1.9 - 21.6) for ARF. The odds ratios were 125.2 (95 percent CI 3 - 250), 12.6 (95 percent CI 1.3 - 77) and 10.8 (95 percent CI 1.3 - 282) respectively. Conclusions: DDIs associated with risk of AEs were fentanyl, propofol and midazolam for bradycardia and hypotension and amphotericin B-vancomycin and vancomycin-amikacin for ARF.