Study Of Potential Drug Interactions Among Eight Major Departments-General Medicine, Orthopedics, Gynecology, Pulmonology, General Surgery, Psychiatry, Otolaryngology And Dermatology Of A Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital In Southern India

Objective: To identify frequency, type, severity and predictors of potential drug-drug interactions(pDDIs), potential drug-food interactions(pDFIs), potential drug-alcohol interactions(pDAIs) and potential drug-tobacco interactions(pDTIs) and most frequently interacting drug combination pairs in hospitalized patients from departments(depts) of General Medicine(GM), Orthopedic(Ortho), Gynecology(OBG), Pulmonology(Pulmo), General Surgery (GS), Psychiatry (Psych), Otolaryngology(ENT) and Dermatology (Derm) of study population. Methods: A Prospective Observational Study was conducted in eight major dept's of a tertiary care teaching hospital for a period of 6 mo. A sample size of 650 prescriptions reflecting admission no's for each department were used. Results: A total of 650 patients were included in the study. Among them, 282(43.4%) were males and 368(56.6%) were females. The mean age of the study population was 39.67±15.23. A total of 487 pDDIs, 734 pDFIs, 586 pDAIs and 159 pDTIs were found out of 650 hospitalized episodes. OBG showed the highest pDDIs and pDAIs. Highest pDFIs and pDTIs were seen in Pulmo. The majority of DDIs were minor, DFIs and DAIs were moderate and DTIs were of major in severity. Pharmacokinetic types of interactions were seen in the majority of the depts. Logistic regression analysis showed that Polypharmacy was associated with the occurrence of DIs. Most of the DIs repeated several times in particular depts and a list of these combinations was prepared. Conclusion: With the high occurrence of overall DIs and characteristic patterns of DIs combination pairs among different departments of the hospital, the presence of clinical pharmacists in hospitals can play a great role, especially in developing nations like India where their role in hospitalized settings is always controversial.

A prospective study of efficacy of ultrasound guided transversus abdominis plane block for postcesarean analgesia

Background: The ultrasound guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block which provides effective analgesia after lower abdominal surgeries including caesarean section. It is a simple and reliable technique. In this prospective, randomized double-blind study, we determined the efficacy of TAP block using 0.25% Bupivacaine and 0.9N Saline with respect to VAS for pain, postoperative Tramadol consumption and post-operative ondansetron usage.Methods: This study was conducted on 100 adult patients of ASA physical status I and II in the   age group of 18 to 40 years undergoing elective lower segment cesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. Study group received TAP block with 0.25% Bupivacaine and control group received 10 ml of 0.9N saline on each side. Patients were analyzed for postoperative pain by pain score (at rest, on movement, on cough) using VAS was recorded at 0, ½, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 hours postoperatively. Need for rescue analgesia was assessed by time to first dose of Tramadol requirement and total dose of Tramadol over 24 hours of postoperative period. Ondansetron (4 mg i.v.) was administered whenever nausea score was more than 2 or the patient vomited. All the data was noted using uniform performs.Results: Patients received TAP block with 0.25% Bupivacaine had better pain scores at first hour of postoperative period during rest, cough and movement which was statistically significant (p<0.0010) in comparison to group B. There was a statistically significant difference (p <0.001) in the requirement of total dose of Tramadol as a rescue analgesia in patients who received transversus abdominis block with 0.25% Bupivacaine (138.77 mg) in comparison with other group(240 mg).The mean time to first request for Tramadol was significantly longer in group A (5.8 hrs)  in comparison to group B (1.93 hrs) with p value <0.001. Patients received TAP block with 0.9N saline needed more dose of Ondansetron, however, the difference was not statistically significant (p >0.001).Conclusions: TAP block using ultrasound provides substantial reduction in Tramadol consumption, time to first dose of rescue tramadol when compared with control group. This study reinforces the recommendation for TAP as a part of multimodal post-operative analgesic regimen.

Anesthetic Management in an Established Case of Anterior Spinal Artery Syndrome Posted for Inguinal Hernioplsty.

Anterior spinal artery syndrome (ASAS) is a rare and permanent damage, caused as a neurological complication of spinal anesthesia. In this case study, we have given account of our experience of anesthetic management of a documented case of ASAS, posted for inguinal hernioplasty. We did a thorough pre-anesthetic evaluation and found that patient had paraplegia and confi ned to bed with aspiration pneumonitis. He is a known hypertensive and on control with tablet amlodipine 5 mg/day. He was subjected to antibiotic therapy, mucolytics with respiratory physiotherapy and incentive spirometry. After preparing the patient thoroughly, patient was subjected to general anesthesia. Post-operative analgesia was provided with injection fentanyl, given with a syringe pump. Post-operative period was uneventful.

Subphrenic abscess following laparoscopic cholecystectomy and spilled gallstones.

The natural biology of spilled intraperitoneal gallstones is not known. We report a patient with subphrenic abscess following spilled gallstones at laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Hydatid cyst in head of pancreas presenting with obstructive jaundice.

We report a patient with hydatid cyst in the head of the pancreas who presented with obstructive jaundice. At operation, the cyst was compressing the common bile duct and pancreatic duct. Excision of the cyst with choledochoduodenostomy was performed.

Balloon angioplasty of the femoro-popliteal segment: follow up results from southern India.

BACKGROUND. Disease of the femoral and popliteal arteries, though one of the commonest manifestations of atherosclerosis, is under-recognized because the morbidity it produces is less catastrophic than coronary or cerebrovascular arterial involvement. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is performed for femoro-popliteal lesions at different centres in India, but post-angioplasty follow up data are scarce. We present our results after femoro-popliteal balloon angioplasty in 140 lesions. METHODS. Between 1986 and 1993, 140 femoro-popliteal angioplasties were performed in 119 patients with symptomatic limb ischaemia. Seventy-one per cent of patients had claudication and the others also had tissue loss. Eighty-two per cent of the lesions were occlusions. The average length of the lesions was 10.7 cm. Conventional wire-balloon angioplasty was performed in 128 lesions; in 12 others, laser-assisted balloon angioplasty was performed using an Nd-YAG laser thermal probe. Patients were followed up at regular intervals for any recurrence of symptoms and for objective evidence of restenosis or re-occlusion. RESULTS. Despite a technical success in 83% of the lesions, cumulative primary patency calculated by the life-table method showed a slow decline which plateaued at 40% after 36 months. Long occlusions and multifocal stenoses showed shorter cumulative patency following angioplasty (27 months and 5.8 months respectively). Extensive luminal irregularity due to post-angioplasty intimal flaps was reduced by using warm contrast for balloon dilatation in 16 patients. In 14 patients who had repeat angioplasty for restenosis, the secondary patency showed a satisfactory figure of 84% at 60 months. CONCLUSION. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is a satisfactory alternative to surgery in femoro-popliteal stenotic or occlusive disease. Regular follow up of such patients is essential in the first three years because re-occlusion can occur. We found that patency remained fairly constant after 36 months. Repeated angioplasty can maintain patency in patients with restenosis.

Frequency of various congenital heart diseases: analysis of 3790 consecutively catheterised patients.

A retrospective analysis of 3790 consecutive patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) who underwent haemodynamic and angiographic studies at Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Bangalore, from April 1981 to April 1994 has been done. The incidence of various CHD has been compared with that in other series from Asian and Western countries. Out of 6985 patients who underwent haemodynamic studies, 3790 had CHD (54.3%). Approximately 63 percent (2386) of these cases had shunt lesions like atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Among them, 15 percent (367) had pulmonary arterial hypertension of various grades. The overall incidence of pulmonary arterial hypertension is higher than that reported in the Western literature. Corrective surgery was done in approximately 63 percent of cases. Ethnic differences in the incidence of CHD were found in this study when compared to the Eastern and Western literature. Congenital aortic stenosis and coarctation of aorta were less common compared to Western countries and Tetralogy of Fallot was less common compared to Eastern countries.

Phosphorylation of casein, fibrinogen and calmodulin by a glycoprotein protein kinase from monkey cerebellum: a casein kinase II-like enzyme.

A glycoprotein protein kinase was isolated from monkey cerebellum by polylysine-Sepharose chromatography and affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B coupled to the lectin, Concanavalin A. The protein kinase phosphorylated casein on serine and threonine residues and was stimulated by polylysine, polyarginine, spermine, histone, protamine and sphingosine, but was inhibited by heparin, poly (Glu, Ala, Tyr) and poly (Glu, Tyr). These characteristics were typical of casein kinase II. The protein kinase also phosphorylated fibrinogen and calmodulin and exhibited similar characteristics of stimulation by polylysine or polyarginine. The phosphorylation of fibrinogen (a glycoprotein), but not casein or calmodulin (non-glycoproteins), was significantly inhibited by Concanavalin A. Unlike casein kinase II, the enzyme did not undergo autophosphorylation. The collective results suggested that the enzyme from monkey cerebellum was a casein kinase II-like protein kinase and that phosphorylation of a glycoprotein substrate (fibrinogen) by the kinase could be influenced by a carbohydrate binding lectin.

Transesophageal echocardiography for the detection of left atrial thrombus.

We performed transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiography (TEE) and compared its results with those of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in a series of 120 patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS). The patients were selected from a pool of 2000 patients of rheumatic heart disease assessed earlier by clinical examination and TTE. The selection criteria for TEE included one or more of the following: 1. Atrial fibrillation, 2. Embolic episode, 3. Before closed mitral valvotomy or balloon mitral valvuloplasty, 4. Large left atrium (LA) and 5. Evidence of clot or spontaneous echo-contrast in LA. The aim was to study the usefulness of TEE as compared to TTE in the detection of thrombus in LA. LA thrombus was imaged in 34/120 TEE studies as compared to 21/120 TTE studies. In 12/13 patients in whom TTE failed, the clot was present in the left atrial appendage (LAA). In the remaining one patient, poor echo window for TTE was responsible. In 2/6 patients with embolic episode, neither TTE nor TEE could document the presence of clot in LA. The procedure of TEE was well tolerated and there were no complications. We conclude that TEE is a safe and valuable adjunct to TTE with better diagnostic ability for the detection of LA thrombus and should be performed in all patients with MS in whom a clot in LA is suspected or needs to be excluded.

Aspirin in ischemic heart disease--an overview.

Aspirin is one of the oldest and most commonly used nonprescription drugs in the world. Although commonly it is used for relief from common headache and muscular pain, its use in the prevention and treatment of platelet related complications in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) is quite controversial. A brief review of the major aspirin trials indicated that a full strength aspirin taken daily had no significant beneficial effect in reducing mortality of patients with CVD/CBVD. However, two major trials (ISIS-2, PHS) in which either low dose aspirin (160 mg) or one aspirin administered every other day, have demonstrated significant reduction in fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. Even a dose as low as 1 mg aspirin per day significantly lowers platelet thromboxane synthesis. As a result of these studies, low dose aspirin should be the choice of prophylactic therapy aimed at the inhibition of platelet cyclooxygenase activity. Controlled-release low dose aspirin may favorably reduce platelet thromboxane production and spare vascular prostacyclin synthesis. At least 100 mgs of aspirin per day are essential to completely inhibit steady state thromboxane formation. Low dose aspirin (160 mgs) has been shown to be as effective as the full strength aspirin (325 mgs) in reducing clinical complications related to platelet activation. The antithrombotic effect of aspirin is well established and improved formulations, well thought out therapeutic protocols, customized dosage, appropriate timing of delivery, a better understanding of platelet function and pathophysiology of CUD/CBUD will facilitate maximization of the beneficial effects of aspirin.

Influence of low dose enteric-coated aspirin on platelet function.

Little is known about the effect of low dose, enteric-coated aspirin on human blood platelet function. This study was conducted to evaluate the acute effects of a single daily dose of commercially available enteric-coated aspirin on platelet biochemistry, physiology and function. Blood for these studies was obtained from drug-free volunteer donors prior to ingestion of aspirin or following ingestion, either before breakfast or following lunch. Response of platelets to the action of weak agonists was evaluated. In addition, ability of platelets to convert radiolabeled arachidonic acid to thromboxane was monitored. Results of our studies show that a single daily dose of 50 mg of aspirin taken either before breakfast or after lunch effectively prevented the secondary wave aggregation response, as well as secretion of dense body contents when stimulated by agonists such as epinephrine and ADP. Aspirin ingestion caused a dose-dependent inhibition of platelet cyclooxygenase activity as evidenced by the extent of arachidonic acid converted to thromboxane by platelets exposed to aspirin for different time periods. Based on these observations, it is suggested that low dose aspirin may be very useful and desirable to restrain platelet activity in clinical situations in which increased thromboxane formation may initiate vascular hypertension and platelet hyperactivity.

Clinical manifestations in malayan filariasis infection with special reference to lymphoedema grading.

In a door-to-door survey in Shertallai area of Kerala state in southern India, 7,766 persons were examined for clinical manifestations of filariasis. The prevalence of disease was 9.85 per cent and chronic persistent oedema (grade-II) was the predominant clinical presentation in both sexes. There was no significant difference in the age prevalence of disease between the sexes. Incidence of episodic filarial fever was higher (4.73/1000) compared to other manifestations (2.49/1000) in children aged 5-15 yr and hence this may be an useful indicator of the degree of occurrence of fresh cases of clinical filariasis. Classification of patients with lymphoedema into three grades showed that 1.65 per cent of those examined had developed lymphoedema within 6 months. Persistence of oedema (grade II) for prolonged period (13.64 +/- 1.17 yr) without skin changes indicated that the development of elephantiasis is a slow process. The clinical picture of malayan filariasis is similar to that reported elsewhere in the world except for the rarity of abscess formation is inguinal area.

Ventricular septal defect with aortic regurgitation: a hemodynamic and angiographic profile in Indian subjects.

The records of 362 patients of Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) were analysed to find out the incidence of aortic regurgitation (AR) and their hemodynamic and angiographic features. Thirty-seven patients (10.2%) were found to have AR, whose mean age was 13.4 years (range: 2-45) and male to female ratio was 5:1. Of the 37 cases 31 (84%) had infracristal and 6 (16%) had supracristal VSD. In 31 patients with infracristal VSD the prolapsing cusp was Right Coronary Cusp (RCC) in 14 (48%), Noncoronary Cusp (NCC) in 12 (41%) and both RCC and NCC in 3 (11%). Of the 6 patients with supracristal VSD the prolapsing cusp was RCC in 5 (83%) and NCC in 1 (17%). In two patients the AR was due to bicuspid aortic valve. The pulmonary artery pressure was normal in 26 of 37 (70.2%) patients and the left to right shunt was 1.5:1 or less in 23 of 37 (62%) patients. Nineteen of the 37 patients (51.3%) had grade I or II AR and the remaining 18 (48.7%) had grade III or IV AR. There was no relationship between the severity of AR and the location of the VSD. In conclusion, in this series, the incidence of VSD+AR is relatively higher and that of supracristal VSD is lower. In majority of patients the left to right shunt is small and pulmonary artery pressure within normal limits. The prolapse of RCC is more common in supracristal VSD and there is no relation between the severity of AR and the location of the VSD.

Tetralogy of Fallot with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy--an unknown combination.

A hitherto unknown association of Tetralogy of Fallot (TF) and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) diagnosed by two dimensional echocardiography, cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography is reported. Patient underwent emergency aortopulmonary shunt successfully. The literature is reviewed in brief.

Myocardial bridge (MB): an angiographic curiosity?

The coronary angiograms of 1,500 cases performed between 1981 and 1989 were analysed to find out the incidence of Myocardial Bridge (MB) and its significance as regards myocardial ischemia. Sixteen of these (1.06%) were found to have MB. Their ages ranged from 27-70 years (m = 49.2) and male:female ratio was 13:3. Out of 16 patients, 7 (group A) had associated coronary artery disease (CAD) (7 of 1421; 0.49%) and remaining 9 (group B) had no associated CAD (9 of 79; 11.39%). All the MB were found on left anterior descending artery (LAD) (3 on proximal LAD and 13 on mid LAD). No MB was found on right coronary artery (RCA) or circumflex arteries. The location of the MB did not affect the pattern of CAD. Chronic stable angina was the commonest presenting symptom in group A patients (5 out of 7) and atypical angina in group B patients (5 out of 9). Majority of group B patients had either normal or nonspecific ST-T changes in ECG (7 out of 9). However, the presence of previous myocardial infarction or ECG evidence of 'Q' wave infarction (2 out of 2) was always associated with significant CAD. Similarly, regional wall motion abnormalities on echocardiogram were always found in patients with significant CAD and old myocardial infarction. All 9 patients with MB and normal coronary arteries were managed conservatively with good relief of symptoms, whereas other seven patients were managed on the merits of the underlying CAD. In conclusion, the MB is a normal variant found incidentally on coronary angiography, and does not have any definite clinical correlations or pathological significance.

The effect of vagotomy and hydrocortisone administration on pulmonary surfactant activity in adult albino rats.

The role of vagus and hydrocortisone in the regulation of lung surfactant was studied in adult albino rats. Dynamic surface tension and phospholipid content were measured in the lung wash for estimating surfactant activity. The results indicate that vagotomy significantly decreases the surfactant activity whereas hydrocortisone does not alter it. But when hydrocortisone was administered prior to vagotomy it could prevent the decrease in surfactant activity. Thus it is concluded the regulation of lung surfactant in the adult lung is mainly by vagus nerve and hydrocortisone as such has no role but in the absence of vagal regulation hydrocortisone could maintain normal lung surfactant activity.